
Class J3VjLi_13_ 

Bnnk ■ (Tl. (r 
Cojpgtrt N". 



COPVRIGHT DEPOSnV 



PREPARATION 
FOR TEACHING 

A STANDARD COURSE for TEACHER TRAINING 

By CHARLES A. OLIVER 




Approved hy the- Committee on Education of 
The International Sunday School . Association 



PHILADELPHIA 

THE WESTMINSTER PRESS 
1909 






Copyright, 1909 
By Charles A. Oliver 



Library of congress 

Two Gocies Received 

MAY 21 1909 




OPY 3. 



Foreword 



The rapid development of teacher-training ideals and the adoption 
of a standard course have made obsolete courses prepared even so late 
as 1905, when "The Westminster Teacher Training Course" was 
published. To meet present day requirements an entirely new volume 
— "Preparation for Teaching" — has been written by one whose long 
and successful experience in the work of teacher training specially 
quahfies him for the task. 

The volume has been approved by the Committee on Education of 
the International Sunday School Association, which requires that the 
standard teacher-training course shall consist of not less than fifty 
lessons, at least twenty of these being devoted to the study of the Bible, 
and at least seven each to the study of the pupil, the teacher and the 
Sunday school. 

It will be noted that the maps printed in connection with the lessons 
are mere outlines. They have been crudely made in order that they 
may be the more easily reproduced on the blackboard. 

In offering to our Sunday schools this new course' of teacher-training 
lessons, the publishers feel that they are putting within their reach a 
book which will prove valuable and helpful. 



How to do Successful Teacher-Training 

Work 



Determine to have a class. You can do it. The plans are practical 
and can be adapted to any school. 

Remember that it is important to start right. A half-hearted, poorly 
considered effort will inevitably be a failure. 

Read carefully the general teacher-training leaflets. Confer with 
those who know the work. Secure all available information. Write to 
the Sunday-school department of your denomination or to the Superin- 
tendent of Teacher Training of your state Sunday-school association. 

Do personal work. Enlist the interest of the choicest people in the 
church. They may need the course of study least but will appreciate 
it most. Through these, others will be reached. 

Call a meeting of the teachers and officers. Show a copy of the text- 
book, and teach a sample lesson. Decide to inaugurate the teacher- 
training work at once. 

Secure the most competent teacher available, not necessarily an 
expert, but some one who will be a leader, earnest, sympathethic, tact- 
ful and patient. Do not postpone the time of starting the class be- 
cause the skilled teacher is not at hand. Use the best man or woman 
you have. 

Organize one or both of the following classes: 

1. A Class for Present Teachers. If possible, an entire even- 
ing should be devoted to the class work. If this is not feasible, the 
class may meet in connection with the regular teachers' meeting, before 
or after the midweek prayer meeting or at some time on Sunday. 
OflScers of the school and the Christian workers will find it profitable 
to join the class. 

V 



vi Preparation for Teaching 

2. A Permanent Teacher Training Class in the Sunday School. 

With the help of the teachers select from the Senior and Adult 
departments of the school a group of choice young people and 
form them into a class which will meet during the regular school session. 
Sometimes it may be found desirable to change an entire senior or 
adult class into a teacher-training class. 

If possible, give this class a separate room, or have it meet with the 
main school during the opening exercises, and then in the church 
auditorium or a near-by home for lesson study, which may then be 
continued during the time devoted by the school to closing exercises. 
This class should be continuous. New pupils should be allowed to en- 
roll when any one of the five sections of the book is completed. Thus 
one who begins with Part IV would first take Parts IV and V, and 
then make up Parts I, II and III when the book is begun the second time. 
Thus if care is taken to enroll recruits at every opportunity, there will 
be no difficulty in making the class continuous. 

The members of the training class should not be called upon to act as 
supply teachers. The class work should not be disturbed till the course 
has been completed. 

A Mixed Class. It is sometimes found desirable to begin with a 
mixed class of both present and prospective teachers. Union classes 
made up from a number of schools, have been quite successful in many 
places. However, the permanent class in a single school will usually 
be found to be best. 

EnroU the class with the denominational and state teacher-training 
officials, and then prepare to secure the help and inspiration that will 
come from them. 

TEACHING HINTS 
Secure the co operation of every member of the class. Ask questions 

and assign subjects for special study. See that each student has a 
text-book, and that the lessons are studied. 

Use the blackboard. Write out the lesson outhne and simple dia- 
grams. 

Review constantly. Make sure that every lesson is thoroughly 
mastered. 

Give written reviews occasionally. These will show the weak places 
in the knowledge of the students and wiU enable you to help them. 

Be sxire that the class takes the official examinations provided by the 



Teacher-Training Work vii 

denomination or the state Sunday-school association. The text-book 
is divided into five sections of ten lessons each. An examination will 
be given at the end of each section; this will be final for that part of 
the book. Classes preferring to take fewer examinations may combine 
two or more parts for examination. These examinations are an in- 
centive to good work; the receipt of good grades for a section of the 
work will be a decided encouragement to continued effort. 

Graduation exercises are a fitting recognition for faithful work and do 
much to impress upon the church and community the importance of 
Sunday-school teaching. 

The students passing the examinations will be entitled to the inter-! 
national or the state first diploma and will also be accorded denomina- 
tional recognition. 

Individual students may study the course, take examination and 
receive recognition. 



Contents 



Page 

Foreword iii 

How TO DO Successful Teacher-training Work v 

Part I 
Lesson THE OLD TESTAMENT 

I. The Old Testament Books 1 

II. The New Testament Books 2 

III. The Period of the Patriarchs 4 

IV. The Period of the Patriarchs (Continued) 7 

V. The Period of the Patriarchs (Continued) 9 

VI. The Period of the Great Leaders 11 

VII. The Period of the Kings 14 

VIII. The Period of the Kings (Continued) 16 

IX. The Period of the Foreign Rulers 18 

X. The Old Testament World 20 

Part II 

THE NEW TESTAMENT 

I. The Early Life of Christ 27 

II. The Ministry of Christ 29 

III. The Ministry of Christ (Continued) 32 

IV. The Ministry of Christ (Continued) 35 

V. The Ministry of Christ (Continued) 38 

VI. The Church in Jerusalem 41 

VII. The Church Extending to the Gentiles 43 

VIII. The Church in AU the World 45 

IX. The Land Where Jesus Lived 49 

X. The Places Visited by Jesus 51 

Part III 
BIBLE INSTITUTIONS AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

I. Places of Worship 59 

II. Sacred Services 62 

III. The Sacred Year 64 

ix 



X Contents 

Lesson Page 

IV. The Sunday School 66 

V. The Interrelation of the Church, the Sunday School and 

the Home 69 

VI. The Purpose of the Sunday School 71 

VII. The Sunday School Organized and Equipped 73 

VIII. The Sunday School Graded 75 

IX. Methods of Building Up the Sunday School 77 

X. The Sunday School and Missions 79 

Part IV 

THE PUPIL 

I. The Importance of Knowing the Pupil 83 

II. Knowing the Pupil by His Play 85 

III. Infancy. The Cradle Roll and the Beginners 88 

IV. Infancy. The Cradle Roll and the Beginners (Continued) ... 90 
V. Childhood, Primary and Junior 93 

VI. Childhood. Primary and Junior (Continued) 95 

VII. Early Adolescence. The Intermediates 98 

VIII. Early Adolescence. The Intermediates (Continued) 101 

IX. Later Adolescence. Seniors and Adults 103 

X. The Child Prepared for the Teaching. 106 

Part V 

THE TEACHER 

I. The Teacher's Teacher Ill 

II. The Teacher and His Text-Book 112 

III. The Teacher and the Pupil 115 

IV. The Teacher's Personal Preparation 117 

V. Teaching Principles 119 

VI. Methods of Teaching 121 

VII. Preparing the Lesson 124 

VIII. Illustrating the Lesson 127 

IX. The Teacher's Responsibility 129 

X. The Complete School for the Trained Teacher 131 



PART I 
The Old Testament 



LESSON I 
The Books of the Bible 

The Bible is God's written revelation of his will. 

It consists of sixty-six books. 
Written by at least thirty-six people. 
During a period of sixteen centuries. 

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, excepting a few short 
passages which are in the Aramaic language. About one hundred 
years before the Christian era the. entire Old Testament was translated 
into Greek. The New Testament was written in the Greek language. 
Our English Bible is a translation from these original languages. 

It is important that the Sunday school teacher be thoroughly famihar 
with the name and location of every Bible book. 

THE OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS 

The thirty-nine books of the Old Testament may be conveniently 
grouped as follows: 

The Books of the Law. Five. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Num- 
bers and Deuteronomy. 

The Historical Books. Twelve. Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First and 
Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, First and Second Chronicles, 
Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. 

The Poetical Books. Five. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes 
and the Song of Solomon. 

The Major Prophetical Books. Five. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamenta- 
tions, Ezeldel and Daniel. 

The Minor Prophetical Books. Twelve. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Oba- 
1 1 



Preparation for Teaching 



diah, Jonah, Micah, Nahuin, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah 
and Malachi. 

Useful Drills. Give the names of the Old Testament books, back- 
ward as well as forward. Choose books at random, and locate each in 
its division, telling the names of the books before and after it — pre- 
cisely as you would "bound" a state or a coimtry. See how readily 
you can turn to the various books. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
In what language was the Old Testament written? 
How many books are in the Bible? 
How many books are in the Old Testament? 
About how many persons wrote the books of the Bible? 
Through how many centuries did the writing extend? 
Name the books of the Law. 
Name the Historical books of the Old Testament. 
Name the Poetical books of the Old Testament. 
Name the Major Prophetical books. 
Name the Minor Prophetical books. 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 




O. T. Books 
39 



Languages 



66 Books 

36 Authors 

16 Centuries 

Law. G. E. L. N. D. 

History. J. J. R. 1 & 2 S. 

Poetry. J. P. P. E. S. of S. 

Major Prophetical. I. J. L. E. D. 

IVIinor Prophets. H. J. A. O. J. M. N. H. Z. H. Z. M 



Hebrew 
Aramaic 
Greek 



1 & 2 K. 1 & 2 C. E. N. E. 



LESSON II 
The New Testament Books 



The New Testament was written to set forth the character and 
teachings of Jesus Christ, the Mediator of the New Covenant, by at 
least eight men, four of whom — Matthew, John, Paul and Peter — 



The Old Testament 3 

were apostles, two — Mark and Luke — were companions of the apostles, 
and two — James and Jude — were brothers of Jesus. The different 
books were written at various times during the second half of the first 
century. 

The following is a convenient division of the New Testament books: 

The Four Gospels, or Biographies. Matthew, Mark, Luke and 
John. 

The Historical Book. The Acts of the Apostles. 

The Pauline Epistles. Fourteen. Romans, First and Second Co- 
rinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and Sec- 
ond Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon and 
Hebrews. 

The General Epistles. Seven. James, First and Second Peter, 
First, Second and Third John, Jude. 

The Prophetical Book. Revelation. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Suggestion for review. The leader may conduct this review as a 
written examination, dictating the questions to the class, and pausing 
while the answers are written. 

When was the New Testament written? by whom? 

In what language was the New Testament written? 

Name the four Biographies of Christ. 

Name the Historical book of the New Testament. 

Name the Pauline Epistles. 

Name the General Epistles. 

Name the Prophetical book of the New Testament. 





BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 


Books 


Biographies. M. M. L, J. History. A. 

Pauline Epistles. R. 1 & 2 C. G. E. P. C. 1 & 2 T. 1 & 2 

T. T. P. H. 
General Epistles. J. 1 & 2 P. 1, 2, & 3 J. J. 
Prophetical. R. 



4 Preparation for Teaching 

LESSON III 
Old Testament History 

The Bible is God's revelation to men. Its central theme is salvation 
through Christ. Bible history unfolds the reHgious meaning of events, 
and represents God as active in the affairs of men. 

Old Testament history may be divided into four periods: 

I. The Period of the Patriarchs. Adam to Moses. 

11. The Period of the Great Leaders. Moses to Saul. 

III. The Period of the Kings. Saul to the Babylonish Captivity. 

IV. The Period of the Foreign Rulers. The Babylonish Captivity 
to the Advent of Christ. 



I. The Period of the Patriarchs 

Adam to Moses 

The Bible Account. The Book of Genesis. 

This period reveals the preparation of the people of Israel for their 
great mission of giving the knowledge of the true God to the whole 
world. 

The subdivisions of this period are: 

1. The Godly Line. 

2. The Chosen Family. 

3. The Tribes of IsraeL 

1. THE GODLY LINE 

In the beginning of this earliest age there were no nations. God's 
grace was revealed to a few select men, who preserved the knowledge 
of him on the earth. In the meantime the world was becoming more 
and more corrupt. 

The godly men of the age were Adam, Seth and his descendants, 
notably Enoch, who ''walked with God: and he was not; for God 
took him," Noah who built the ark, and Shem and his descendants. 

The leading events of this subdivision are: 

(a) The Creation. 

(b) The Fall and the Promise. 

(c) The Flood. 

(d) The Dispersion, 



The Old Testament 



5 



(a) The Creation. (Genesis, chs. 1, 2.) God called all things into 
being by the word of his power. His creative work was progressive : 
first, the world of matter was created; then, the system of life, and 
finally man, the crown of creation. 

Because of his interest lq his creatures, God followed his work of 
creation with his work of government and preservation. 

(6) The Fall and the Promise. (Genesis, ch. 3.) Adam and Eve 
were created in a state of innocence, but strength and permanence of 
character could be theirs only through resistance of evil and choice 
of the good. They were tested under most favorable circmnstances. 
God endowed them with a clear mind and pure heart and with ability 
to do right. He also gave them his own presence and fellowship. The 
test of their 
loyalty was to 
be obedience 
to him. 

Satan ap- 
peared in a 
fascinating as- 
pect , and 
tempted them 
to doubt God's 
wisdom and 
love and to 
disobey his 

commands. They yielded to the temptation, and sin entered the 
world. In mercy God promised one who would redeem men from sin. 
(Gen. 3 : 15.) 

(c) The Flood. After the fall God gave the world a new beginning 
in Seth, through whom the promises would be handed down. The 
descendants of Seth married with the Cainites and became impure. 
The wickedness of men increased until there remained but one righteous 
man, and he was in great danger of being carried away by the corrup- 
tion around him. God's patience was most wonderful. The Holy 
Spirit had striven with men. Noah had warned them, and even after 
Noah had entered the ark there was a respite of seven days before the 
flood came, but God's mercies were refused and men perished. (Genesis, 
chs. 6, 7.) Noah was saved from the flood by the ark, and from the evil 








6 Preparation for Teaching 

in the world by the flood. ^Tien he came out of the ark, he erected 
an altar a^ a pledge that his saved Hfe was henceforth consecrated to 
God's service. (Gen. 8 : 20.) 

(d) The Dispersion. (Genesis, ch. 11.) After the flood the world was 
given another new start, but as the people multipHed, men increased 
m wickedness. They built the tower of Babel in defiance of God 
They sought to establish a world-wide empire that would be inde^ 
pendent of God, and for this the Lord scattered them in many lands 
Ihen, m the providence of God, there arose tribes, nations and different 
languages. 

Four great nations were estabhshed, Egypt in North Africa, Phoenicia 
on the .viediterranean coa^t, Chaldea between the Tigris and the 
iLuphrates rivers, and Assyria north of Chaldea. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Name the four periods of Old Testament history. 
Give the Hmits of the period of the Patriarchs, 
^liat Bible book tells about the period of the Patriarchs? 
Give the subdi\Tsions of the period of the Patriarchs. 
Name the noted men of the first subdivision. 

Name four leading events of the subdivision, "The Godly Line." 
Give the three stages of God's creative work. 
How was Adam's loyalty to God tested? 
Why did God destroy the world in the time of Noah? 
Describe the dispersion of mankind. 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



t|- S^ J^*">r^ A.toM. in. The Kings. S. to B.C. 
IL ihe Great Leaders. M. to S. IV. The Foreign Rulers. B. C. to C. 

f (a) The Creation Book 

^u n ^1 T . ^^) ^^^ Fall and the 

ihe Godly Line \ Promise 

(c) The Flood 

(d) The Dispersion 



L The Pe- 
riod of the 
Patriarchs 



Genesis 



The Old Testament 7 

LESSON IV 
I. The Period of the Patriarchs 

2. THE CHOSEN FAMILY 

The method of grace by which salvation was offered to the entire 
race, had failed because of the wickedness of the human heart, so 
God limited his gracious promises to a single family in order that, 
through it, the whole world might eventually receive his grace. We 
are now to note the series of providences that led to the making of 
God's people. 

The great events of this subdivision are: 

(a) The Call of Abraham. 
(6) The Wanderings of Jacob, 
(c) The Advancement of Joseph. 

(a) The Call of Abraham. (Gen. 12 : 1 to 25: 10.) God called 
Abraham to leave 
his home in idola- 
trous Ur of the 
Chaldees to go to 
an unknown land 
where God would 
make him the 
father of a mighty 
nation., 

Abraham obeyed 
and journeyed first 
to Haran, where he 
tarried till the 

death of his father Terah, and then completed the journey to Canaan. 
At Shechem God told him that this was the land of promise and that it 
should belong to him and to his seed after him. Though he was not 
permitted to settle in one place, as he traveled through the land he 



jii\flM 




<^Bf?ftHAM:s J'OUI^NE.^ 



8 Preparation for Teaching 

showed his faith in the divine promises by erecting everywhere altars 
of worship, 

God signally honored the faith and character of Abraham by reveal- 
ing himself to him in special ways, by entering into a sacred covenant 
with him and by caUing him "my friend." (Isa. 41 : 8.) His family 
became God's pecuUar charge. God dealt with them as with no other 
people. 

(b) The Wanderings of Jacob. (Gen. 25 : 19 to 36 : 43.) Through 
Isaac the promises of God were passed down to Jacob who, despite 
his many faults, valued God's covenant blessing. Jacob in his wander- 
ings suffered for his sins, and through the chastening became a good 
man. The divine blessing that he tried to secure from Esau by fraud, 
in the end became his undisputed possession on the ground of his real 
worth. 

(c) The Advancement of Joseph. Joseph was one of Jacob's young- 
est sons and therefore was seemingly without prospects, as leadership 
in a family was inherited by the eldest son, but God was with Joseph 
and he could not be kept down. He was sold as a slave by envious 
brothers, falsely accused in Egypt and cruelly imprisoned, yet all 
these adversities were but steps to a position next to that of Pharaoh. 
Through his rare wisdom, his purity of Hfe and strong character, he 
became God's agent in bringing his father and his brothers into their 
training school, the land of Egypt. (Genesis, chs. 45, 46.) 



TEST QUESTIONS 

How did God change his plan of bringing salvation to men? 

Name the three great events of the subdi\dsion " The Chosen 
Family." 

What promise .did God give to Abraham? 

How did God honor the faith and character of Abraham? 

"VMiat good results followed from the wanderings of Jacob? 

Who was Joseph? 

Name at least three of Joseph's trying experiences. 

Name three elements in Joseph's character that made him a success- 
ful man. \ 

What important result was brought about through Joseph's eleva- 
tion? 



The Old Testament 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 





f (a) The Creation 


Book 




(6) The Fall and the 






r 1 . The Godly Line \ Promise 






(c) The Flood 




L The Pe- 


1 (d) The Dispersion 




riod of the 


f (a) The Call of 


Genesis 


Patriarchs 


Abraham 




2. The Chosen Family ^WThe^,:,-t^ 








(c) The Advance- 
ment of Joseph 





LESSON V 
I. The Period of the Patriarchs 

3. THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL 

In this period the chosen family developed into the tribes of Israel; 
thus we reach another stage in the progress of God's plan. At first he 
dealt with select individuals, then with a single family, then with tribes, 
and later on with tribes organized into a nation. 

The family of Abraham became the twelve families of the sons of 
Jacob. Each family was the nucleus of a tribe, and during the stay 
in Egypt the tribal life was fully established. 

The great events of this subdivision are: 

(a) The Descent into Egypt. 

(b) The Growth and Training of the Tribes. 

(c) The Unifying of the People. 

(a) The Descent into Egypt. It was necessary that the people be 
separated from the corrupting influences of the Canaanites before they 
could be prepared for their mission under favoring circumstances. 
Egypt afforded the best civilization of that day, and no more pleasant 
home could be found than Goshen, near the Nile River. By his provi- 
dence God had brought Joseph to this land and had made him so famous 
that the Pharaoh was glad to welcome Jacob and his children, and to 
give them the best the land produced. (Genesis, chs. 46, 47.) 



Preparation for Teaching 



(6) The Growth and Training of the Tribes. The children of 
Abraham were too few to take possession of the land of promise; they 
must have time and opportunity for numerical growth. (Ex. 1 : 1-7.) 
Secluded in a fruitful and happy land for several hundred years, the 
Uttle company of seventy people grew to be twelve tribes, nimibering 
at least two million people. 

During these years the simple-minded shepherds were instructed in 
the schools of Egypt, and were trained in useful industries and in 

methods of seK-government. This 
schoohng was an important prepara- 
tion for their hfe in the wilderness 
and in Canaan. 

(c) The Unifying of the People. 

In the course of time unfriendly 
Pharaohs sat upon the throne of 
Egypt, and, fearing the rapid 
growth of the people of Israel, 
they sought to prevent further in- 
crease in the population by oppress- 
ing them heavily. (Ex. 1 : 8-14.) 

These common and long-con- 
tinued sorrows welded the people 
together and awakened longings for 
the promised land. They thus be- 
came a united people, and were ready to leave Egypt to carry out 
God's purposes. 




eEElT5MEB^ 



TEST QUESTIONS 

Name four stages in the development of God's plan. 

Name the three great events of the subdivision, ''The Tribes of Is- 
rael." 

Why was it necessary that the children of Israel should leave their 
home in Canaan? 

Why was Egypt a desirable home for the people? 

Why was it important that they remain so many years in Egypt? 

What training did they receive? 

Why did the Pharaohs oppress the Israelites? 

What effect did their sorrows have upon the people? 



The Old Testament 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



I. The 
Period 
of the 
Patri- 
archs 



L The Godly 
Line 



2. The Chosen 
Family 



3. The Tribes of 
Israel 



(a) The Creation 

(b) The Fall and the 

Promise 

(c) The Flood 

(d) The Dispersion 

(a) The Call of Abra- 
ham 
(&) The Wanderings of 

Jacob 
(c) The Advancement 

of Joseph 
(a) The Descent Into 

Egypt 
(6) The Growth and 

Training of the 

Tribes 
(c) The Unifying of 

the People 



Date 



Israel 

in 

Egypt 

about 

1500 



Book 
Genesis 



LESSON VI 
II. The Period of the Great Leaders 

Moses to Saul 
(About 1317 B. C. to 1030 B. C.) 

The Bible Account. Exodus to I Samuel. 

In this period the twelve tribes were merged into one government 
and the Israehtes became a nation. 

The four great epochs of this period are: 

1. The Exodus. 

2. The Discipline of the Wilderness. 

3. The Conquest of Canaan. 

4. The Rule of the Judges. 

1. The Exodus. When the people were sufficiently experienced to 
become a nation, God raised up Moses to be their leader. His life may 
be divided into three periods of forty years each. 

(a) Forty years of education in Egypt. Adopted by Pharaoh's 
daughter and treated as her child, he had every educational advantage 
and became learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. (Ex. 2 : 1-10; 
Acts 7 : 22, 23.) 



12 



Preparation for Teaching 



'''^^^/?f^^HE^' 



(b) Forty years of spiritual training in the desert of Arabia. The forty 
years in Egypt had made him a scholar and statesman, but his educa- 
tion was not complete till he became a man of God. In the desert he 
conmiuned long with God and ripened in character. 

(c) Forty years' of service as leader of Israel, as the great lawgiver and 
as the organizer of the nation. When he was prepared for his mission 
God sent him back to Egypt. (Exodus, chs. 3,4.) By means of the ten 
plagues, culminating in the death of the firstborn in the Egyptian homes, 

Pharaoh was made will- 
ing to permit the Israel- 
ites to leave the land. 
(Exodus, chs. 7 to 12.) 
Note especially the ac- 
count in chapter 12 
of the institution of 
the feast of the pass- 
over, observed to this 
day by every careful 
Jew. 

After the miracle of 
crossing the Red Sea 
the wilderness life be- 
gan. 

2. The Discipline of 
the Wilderness. The 

Israelites marched to 
Sinai, where, during the one year of waiting, they received from God: 
(a) The moral law as a guide to daily conduct. 
(6) The ceremonial law as a directory of worship, 
(c) The civil law for the government of the nation. 
The tabernacle was erected and God's worship was fully established. 
In order that the people might be cured of idolatry and learn to trust 
him, God led them by the glory cloud through a pathless, barren 
wilderness, and fed them with manna from heaven. 

At Kadesh-barnea they rebelled against God by refusing to enter the 
land, because they beheved the false reports of the spies, and were 
required to wander in the wilderness thirty-eight years longer. (Num- 
bers, chs. 13, 14.) These forty years of training prepared them for the 
next step in their advancement. 




THE VWILDE.RNES5 JOURNEt. 



The Old Testament 13 

3. The Conquest of Canaan. Of all the fighting men who left 
Egypt with Moses, only two remained at the end of the wilderness 
journey, the faithful Caleb, and Joshua, the son of Nun, a descendant 
of Joseph. (Deut. 1 : 35-38.) At the time of the Exodus Joshua 
was forty years old. All through the wilderness wanderings he was 
closely associated with Moses, and was thus thoroughly equipped for 
the high office of leader. 

Under Joshua the people crossed the Jordan and the conquest began. 
Joshua planned three campaigns. After taking Jericho he attacked 
the forces in the center of the land, with a view to preventing the enemy 
in the north and south from combining for mutual protection. He 
then fought the tribes in the south, and finally met the combined forces 
of the north and defeated them. (Joshua, ch. 11.) The Canaanites were 
subdued, but not wholly driven from the land. After the conquest 
came the division of the territory among the tribes. 

4. The Rule of the Judges. Joshua had no successor. After his 
death, each tribe acted independently. There was no capital and no 
fixed government. There w^as no unity of action except in time of 
danger, when the tribes combined for the common good. When the 
people sinned against God, their enemies defeated them and ruled them. 
When in their distresses they sought the Lord, he sent great leaders, 
called judges, who delivered them. (Judg. 2 : 16-19.) The leading 
judges were Gideon, Deborah, Samson, Jephthah, Eli and Samuel, the 
last and best of them all. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Name the four great epochs of this period. 
Into what periods may the Hfe of Moses be divided? 
How long did the period of "The Great Leaders" last? 2,-1 J 
What did the years in the desert of Arabia do for Moses? 
What means did God use to make Pharaoh willing to let the people 
go from Egypt? 

What laws were given the Israelites at Mt. Sinai? 

What was the sin of the people at Kadesh-barnea? 

How were they punished for their sin? 

How w^as Joshua trained for his position of leader? 

What three campaigns did Joshua carry out for the conquest of Canaan? 

How w^ere the people ruled after the death of Joshua? 

Name the six leading judges. 

On w^hat occasions were the judges raised up? 



Preparation for Teaching 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



II. The Period 

of the 
Great Leaders 



1. The Exodus from Egypt 

2. The Disciphne of the Wilder- 

ness 

3. The Conquest of Canaan 

4. The Rule of the Judges 



Dates 

1320 

to 
1030 



Books 

Exodus 

to 
I Samuel 



LESSON VII 
ni. The Period of the Kings 

Saul to the Babylonish Captivity 
(1030 B. C. to 587 B. C.) 

The Bible Account. The books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles and 
the Prophets. 

This is the period of the rise and decline of the kingdom. We have 
seen that in the beginning of sacred history the knowledge of God was 
preserved on earth by a few godly men, then God's blessing rested upon 
the chosen family of Abraham. This family became the twelve tribes 
of Israel. The tribal life developed into national life, and the nation 
reached its place of highest opportunity in the kingdom. 

The subdivisions of the period are: 

1. The United Kingdom. 

2. The Divided Kingdom. 

1. THE UNITED KINGDOM 

Under the rule of Samuel, the last of the judges, the enemies of 
Israel were subdued and there was peace throughout the land. But 
the people were discontented. They wanted a king, that they might 
be Hke other nations, and God gave them a king after their own hearts. 
(I Sam. 8 : 6.) 

Saul, the son of Kish, the first king, reigned forty years. He was a 
man of fine personal appearance and of good ability (I Sam. 9:2; 10 : 23 
24), but selfish and rebellious against God. He began well, and was 
successful in some w^ars with the Philistines, but rapidly departed from 
God, and, finally, defeated in battle by the Philistines, committed 
suicide. (I Sam. 31 : 1-6.) 

David. When Saul failed, God selected as his successor a man after 
his own heart. (Acts 13 : 22.) 



The Old Testament 1 5 

David was well trained for this high office. As a shepherd boy- 
he had cultivated companionship with God, and had developed in 
wisdom and skill and devotion to duty. His later trials ripened his 
character, which must not be judged by his few failings, but by his 
many virtues. He sinned grievously, but the habit of his life was pure, 
and he was the greatest of Israel's rulers. 

David's reign continued for forty years. For seven years he led the 
tribe of Judah, with his capital at Hebron. Then, acknowledged as 
king by all the tribes, he captured Jerusalem, and for thirty-three years 
ruled as king in this more central capital. (II Sam. 5 : 4, 5.) 

By successful wars he gained complete independence for his people, 
and enlarged the territory of Israel until it reached eastward to the 
Euphrates River. He brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem 
and estabhshed the worship of God. He also prepared for the building 
of the temple. His psahns still Hve to help the devotion of God's people. 

Solomon, David's son and successor, also reigned forty years. 
His rule was made memorable by the building of the first temple. 
Solomon ruled in great splendor and was famous for his wisdom (I Kings, 
eh. 10), but he was spoiled by luxury and pride. In his day idolatry 
began to appear again among the people. (1 Kings, 11 : 6-8.) 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Give an outline of the development of Israel through the periods of 
the nation's existence. 

Name the subdivisions of the period of the Kings. 

Why did the people ask that a king be given to them? 

What was the character of Saul? 

What kind of man was David? 

How was David fitted for the position of king? 

Where did David reign? how long in each capital? 

Tell some notable works of David. 

What work of Solomon made his reign memorable? 

What evil appeared again among the people in the days of Solomon? 

How long did the first three kings of Israel reign? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



III. The Period j 1. The United | i?} §?"L 
of the Kings | Kingdom j <^^ Davjd^„ 


Date 
1030 


Books 

Samuel 

Kings 

Chronicles 



1 6 Preparation for Teaching 

LBSSON VIII 
m. The Period of the Kings 

2. THE DIVIDED KINGDOM 

After the death of Solomon the people sought to have the heavy- 
taxes he had laid upon them reduced. Rehoboam, son of Solomon, the 
new king, refused to hear their request (I Kings 12 : 1-20), and the 
ten northern tribes rebelled and established a new kingdom with Jero- 
boam, the son of Nebat, as king. This division of the people was caUed 
the kingdom of Israel, or the kingdom of the ten tribes. At first 
Shechem, and afterwards Samaria, was the capital. The two remain- 
ing tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were left to Rehoboam, and constituted 
the kingdom of Judah, with its capital at Jerusalem. 

(a) The Kingdom of Israel. Jeroboam, in order to prevent his 
people from going to worship at Jerusalem in the southern kingdom, 
estabhshed calf worship, with altars at Bethel, close to the southern 
border of his kingdom, and at Dan, in the far north (I Kings 12 : 26-33), 
and the people were invited to engage in idolatrous worship. One of 
Jeroboam's successors, Ahab, married Jezebel, a Phcenician princess, 
who persuaded him to estabhsh in Israel the worship of Baal and Ash- 
taroth, the gods of the Phoenicians. (I Kings 16 : 30-33.) Such de- 
partures from God could have but one result: the people were told that 
unless they repented, the kingdom would certainly be destroyed. 

God sent the great prophet Elijah to call them back to his service. 
After EUjah came Ehsha, with his beneficent ministry. But, though 
the tide was stayed for a time, the downward course was soon resumed. 
The people were wedded to their idols. Of the nineteen kings who 
reigned, not one was a good man. 

In 722 B. C. Shahnaneser, king of Assyria, captured Samaria, and 
the kingdom of Israel came to an end. (II Kings, ch. 17.) 

(6) The Kingdom of Judah was much superior to the kingdom of 
Israel. The people were more united, and the moral and spiritual con- 
ditions were much better. Because the people of Judah were more 
faithful to Jehovah than the people of the northern kingdom, Judah 
lasted one hundred and thirty years longer than Israel: The better 
conditions in Judah were due in large measure to the fact that in its 



The Old Testament 



borders was the temple, with the priests and Levites, many of whom 
were driven from the northern kingdom by the persecutions of Jero- 
boam (II Chron. 11 : 13-17). Judah was also fortunate in having among 
its twenty kings godly rulers, Uke Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Josiah and 
Joash. 

The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah were God's special messengers to 
the people in the declining years of the kingdom. Despite all the 
gracious helps, sin brought 
national decay, and the peo- 
ple were carried into cap- 
tivity, as follows: 

In 605 B. C, when Jehoi- 
akim was king of Judah, 
the army of Nebuchadnezzar 
invaded the land and carried 
Daniel and many of the peo- 
ple to Babylon. (II Kings 
24 : 1.) This was the begin- 
ning of the seventy years' 
captivity. 

In 598 B. C, Nebuchad- 
nezzar took Jehoiachin and 
the prophet Ezekiel, with 
ten thousand of the people, 
into captivity. (II Kings 
24 : 11-16.) 

In 587 B. C, when Zede- 
kiah was king of Judah, 
Nebuchadnezzar's army 

took Jerusalem, destroyed the temple and carried the upper classes of 
the people to Babylon, and left the poorer people to till the land. 
(II Kings, oh. 25.) 




TEST QUESTIONS 
What request did the people make of Rehoboam? 
What result followed Rehoboam 's refusal to hear them? 
What kingdoms succeeded the United Kingdom? 
Name the capital of the kingdom of Israel. 
Name the capital of the kingdom of Judah. 
2 



[8 



Preparation for Teaching 



What means did Jeroboam take to prevent the people from going 
down into the. southern kingdom? 

What did Ahab do to increase idolatry among the people? 

What was the mission of the prophet Ehjah? 

When and by whom was Samaria taken? 

WTiy was the kingdom of Judah more enduring than the kingdom of 
Israel? 

Name four good kings of Judah. 

T\Tiat prophets were sent to the people of Judah? 

When and by whom were the people of Judah carried into captivity? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 









Dates 


Books 




' 1. The United . 
Kingdom 


f (a) Saul 
(6) David 


Fall of 
Samaria, 


Samuel 
Kings 


HLThe 


(c) Solomon 


722 B. C. 


Chronicles 


Period j 




(a) The King- 


Fall of 


The Pro- 


of the ^ 




dom of Is- 


Jerusalem, 


phetical 


Kings 


2. The Divided . 
Kingdom 


rael 
(h) The King- 
dom of 
Judah 


587 B. C. 


Books 



LESSON IX 



IV. The Period of the Foreign Rulers 

The Babylonish Captivity to the Advent of Christ 
(587 B. C. to 4 B. C.) 

The Bible Account. The books of Ezra, Nenemiah, Esther, and 
the prophecies of Daniel and Ezekiel. 

In this period God was preparing the land, his people and the world 
for the coming of Christ. It was necessary to this end that the many- 
petty warring tribes and nations be united in one strong empire, under 
whose protection the missionaries of the' cross might carry the gospel 
to the whole world. 

The great conquerors of this period unconsciously did their part, one 



The Old Testament 19 

after the other, by God's ordering, in making the necessary world 
preparation for the world's Redeemer. 
The period may be divided into five epochs. 

1. Captivity Under the Chaldeans. During the captivity the exiles 
were permitted to live together and to continue many of their religious 
duties. They had no temple and could not offer sacrifices, but the 
Sabbath was observed and other provisions of the law were kept. They 
had religious teachers in the prophets Ezekiel, Daniel and others. 

2. Restoration Under the Persians. In 539 B. C. Cyrus, king of 
Persia, conquered the Chaldeans, and when the seventy years of cap- 
tivity expired he was influenced by God to issue an edict for the re- 
building of the temple at Jerusalem, and invited the Jews to return and 
undertake this work. (Ezra 1 : 1, 2.) 

Zerubbabel and Joshua, with about fifty thousand Jews, came back 
to the home land, and after twenty years the temple was completed 
and dedicated. (Ezra, chs. 2 to 6.) 

In 458 B. C. Ezra the scribe, with a small company of pilgrims, came 
to Jerusalem to reform the life and worship of the people. (Ezra, chs. 
7,8.) 

In 445 B. C. Nehemiah, the cupbearer of King Ai'taxerxes, led the 
third expedition to Jerusalem and succeeded in rebuilding the city 
walls and in effecting many reforms. (Nehemiah, ch. 1.) 

3. Greek Supremacy. Alexander the Great defeated the Persians 
in 331 B. C, and Palestine came under Greek control. Alexander died 
soon after that, and his empire was divided among his generals. Many 
Greek customs were introduced into Palestine, and especially the Greek 
language, which was now used in nearly all countries. This was the 
language God would use in giving the knowledge of Christ to the world. 

Antiochus, a Syrian, came into power in Palestine and tried to force 
Greek idolatry upon the people. They rebelled and great numbers 
were massacred. 

4. The Maccabean Independence. Mattathias and his sons, 
called the Maccabees, organized an army of Jews and fought valiantly 
against the oppressors. After two years, led by Judas Maccabseus, 
who had succeeded his father, liberty was secured and retained for a 
hundred years. 

5. Roman Rule. In the year 63 B. C. Pompey, the Roman general. 



20 



Preparation for Teaching 



came into Palestine and took possession in the name of the Roman 
Empire. In the year 37 B. C. Herod the Great was appointed king by 
the Roman senate, and it was during his reign that Christ was born. 
There was at this time a miiversal expectation that the Messiah 
would soon appear, and the faithful among the Jews lived in the hope 
that he would come in their day. 



I 



TEST QUESTIONS 
What Bible books give the record of this period? 
How did this period prepare the world for Christ's work? 
WTiat was the condition of the exiles during the captivity? 
How was restoration effected under the Persians? 
What work did Zerubbabel accomplish? 
What did Nehemiah accomplish at Jerusalem? 
What did the Greek supremacy do for Palestine? 
What did the Maccabees accompUsh? 
Who were the rulers of Palestine when Christ was born? 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



IV. The 

Period of 

Foreign 

Rulers 



1. Captivity Under the Chal- 

deans 

2. Restoration Under the Per- 

sians 

3. Greek Supremacy 

4. The Maccabean Independ- 

ence 

5. Roman Rule 



Date 



Babylonish 
Captivity 

Ended 
538 B. C. 



Books 



Ezra 

Nehemiah 

Esther 

Daniel 

Ezekiel 



LESSON X 

The Old Testament World 

The Old Testament world extended about twelve hundred miles 
from Media and Persia on the east, to Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea 
on the west, and about eight hundred miles from the highlands of 
Armenia on the north, to the Arabian Desert on the south. 




21 



22 Preparation for Teaching 

1. Canaan, the little country bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, 
was the center of interest. The boundaries of other countries were 
fixed by Jehovah with reference to the land of promise. (Deut. 32 : 8.) 
Jerusalem, the chief city, was "set in the midst of the nations." (Ezek. 
5 :5.) 

Jerusalem was built upon three hills in the mountains of Judaea. 
It was thirty-two miles from the sea and twenty miles from the Jordan. 
Here David ruled over the united people of Israel. (II Sam. 5 : 6-9.) 
Here Solomon built the temple and ruled as king. (II Chronicles, chs. 
1 to 7.) It w^as afterwards the capital of the kingdom of Judah. 

2. Chaldea was separated from Canaan by the Arabian Desert. 
Babylon, the capital, was situated on both sides of the Euphrates 

River, five himdred and fifty miles east of Jerusalem. The city formed 
an exact square, fourteen miles on each side. Its walls were eighty- 
seven feet thick, three hundred feet high and pierced by one hundred 
gates of sohd brass. 

It was Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who took the children of 
Israel into captivity. (Jer. 21 : 7; Dan. 1:1.) 

The Garden of Eden and the Tower of Babel were possibly located 
in Chaldea. 

Ur of the Chaldees was the early home of Abraham. 

3. Persia was east of the Persian Gulf, and was about eight hundred 
miles from Jerusalem. 

Media and Elam were united to the Persian Empire. (Esth. 1 : 2, 
3.) The Persian capital, Shushan, w^as in the province of Elam. 
Here Daniel served as prime minister of the Persian Empire. Here 
Esther lived as the queen of Ahasuerus, and later Nehemiah was cup- 
bearer of the king in the same palace. (Neh. 1 : 1; 2 : 1.) 

By direction of the king of Assyria the captive Israelites were placed 
in the provinces of Media and Elam. (II Kings 17 : 6.) 

4. Assyria w^as north of Chaldea and Elam. 

Nineveh, the great city and capital to which Jonah was sent, was 
located on the Tigris, five hundred and seventy miles from Jerusalem. 
Like Babylon and Shushan, Nineveh became an utter ruin, but excava- 
tions have revealed the former splendors of these cities. 

5. Mesopotamia was located between the Tigris and Euphrates, 
west of Assyria. It is also called Paddan-aram. (Gen. 25 : 20.) 



The Old Testament 



23 



Haran, a large city, was the stopping place of Abraham, when, with 
his father, he journeyed from Chaldea toward Canaan, the land of 
promise. (Gen. 11 : 31.) 

6. Armenia was situated north of Mesopotamia, and about five 
hundred and seventy miles northeast of Jerusalem. The name Ar- 
menia is sometimes translated Ararat. It is thought to be the place 
where Noah's ark rested after the flood. (Gen. 8:4.) 

7. Syria was west of Mesopotamia, and in the line of travel be- 
tween the Euphrates and the sea. 

Damascus, the chief city, was one hundred and thirty miles north of 
Jerusalem, and was built on an oasis in the desert, fertilized by the 
waters of the Abana and Pharpar. (II Kings 5 : 12.) It was the home 
of Naaman, whom EHsha healed of leprosy (II Kings 5 : 14), and was 
the city to which Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor, was journeying when 
converted. 

8. Egjrpt, the land of Hebrew bondage, was situated two hundred 
and fifty miles southwest of Jerusalem. Abraham came here in time 
of famine. (Gen. 12 : 10.) Jacob and his family immigrated to this 
country, and were given the land of Goshen. 

On, or Heliopolis, was the home of Joseph's father-in-law (Gen. 41 : 
45), and here it is thought Moses attended school. Remains of a great 
university have been found in this place. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Give the extent of the Old Testament world. 
Where was Canaan located? 

Give at least three important facts concerning Jerusalem. 
Give the location of Chaldea. 
Locate and describe Babylon. 
Where was Persia located? 
Name and locate the capital of Persia. 
What eminent Bible characters Hved at the Persian capital? 
Locate Assyria and give the name of its capital city. 
Locate Mesopotamia and name its chief city. 
Give the location of Armenia. 
Locate Syria and name its chief city. 
Where was Egypt located? 



24 Preparation for Teaching 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



Countries / ^lanaan. Chaldea. Persia. Assyria. Mesopotamia. 

\ Armenia. Syria. Egypt 

Capitals and / Jerusalem. Babylon. Shushan. Nineveh. Haran. 

Chief Cities \ Damascus 



REVIEW OUTLINE 
I. The Period of the Patriarchs : Adam to Moses 

1. The Godly Line 

Leading events: (c) The Advancement of 

(a) The Creation Joseph 

(&) The Fall and the 3. The Tribes of Israel 

Promise Leading events : 

(c) The Flood (^) The Descent Into 

(d) The Dispersion Egypt 

2. The Chosen F.-^iily (^) The Growth and 
Leading events: Training of the Tribes 

(a) The Call of Abraham (c) The Unifying of the 

(6) The Wanderings of- People 
Jacob 

n. The Period of the Great Leaders: Moses to Saul 

The four great epochs: 

1. The Exodus from 3. The Conquest of Ca- 
Egypt ^aan 

2. The Discipline of the 4- The Rule of the Judges 
Wilderness 

in. The Period of the Kings: Saul to the Babylonish Captivity 
Subdivisions : 

1. The United Kingdom 2. The Divided Kingdom 
IV. The Period of the Foreign Rulers: The Babylonish Captivity to 
the Advent of Christ 
Subdivisions : 

1. Captivity Under the 3. Greek Supremacy 
Chaldeans 4. The Maccabean In- 

2. Restoration Under the dependence 
Persians 5. Roman Rule 



PART II 
The New Testament 



LESSON I 
Introductory 

The promised Saviour came to earth in the fullness of time. 

The children of Israel, cured of idolatry by the Babylonish Captivity, 
and scattered everyw^here, had carried the knowledge of God to all 
nations, and the world was thus prepared for the fuller light of Christ. 

Many even of the heathen, discarding their false religions, were long- 
ing for a Redeemer. 

The Romans had conquered the world, and had unconsciously pre- 
pared for Christ's coming by building splendid roads over which the 
gospel messengers might travel, and by forming a strong government 
that would protect these messengers wherever they journeyed. 

The Greek language, in which the New Testament would be written, 
was now understood in all lands. 

When, in the providence of God, every preparation had been made, 
the Lord of Glory came among men. 

The New Testament is a record of his Ufe and ministry, of the found- 
ing of his church, and of the extension of his kingdom. 

We may divide New Testament history as follows: 

I. The Early Life of Christ. 
II. The Ministry of Christ. 

III. The Church in Jerusalem. 

IV. The Church Extending to the Gentiles. 
V. The Church in All the World. 



I. The Early Life of Christ 



The Bible Accoimt. Matthew and Luke. 

The Gospels give us the important facts regarding: 

1. His Birth. 

2. His Home Life. 

3. His Education. 

4. His Occupation. 

27 



28 Preparation for Teaching 

1. His Birth was at Bethlehem of Judsea. (Micah 5 : 2; Matt. 2 : 1.) 
His earthly life began in a stable. His cradle was a manger. His 
associations were with humble folks. He was a helpless babe. How 
human was our Lord ! 

He was heralded by an archangel, welcomed by an angel choir and 
worshiped by earth's wisest men. How divine was our Lord ! 

2. His Home Life. After the visit to Egjrpt, Mary and Joseph, with 
Jesus, went to hve in Nazareth, a Uttle village in the mountains of 
Gahlee. (Matt. 2 : 23.) That village home was a humble place, with 
simple furnishings, but it was the abode of goodness. Joseph was a 
righteous man. (Matt. 1 : 19.) Mary was a woman of beautiful spirit. 
(Luke 1 : 28, 38.) Jesus was a dutiful son. (Luke 2 : 51.) 

3. His Education. Mary was his first teacher. From her richly 
stored mind she taught him the Old Testament Scriptures. He attended 
the village synagogue school with other Jewish boys, and was there 
taught to read and to write. He became familiar with Aramaic, the 
common language of the people. We know from his quotations that 
he read the Bible in both Hebrew and Greek. 

He was observant, and learned many things from nature and from 
events. The birds (Luke 8:5; Matt. 6 : 26) and the flowers (Luke 
12 : 27) taught him. He learned from the farmer (Luke 8 : 5-8) and 
from the shepherd (John, ch. 10). He would surely sometimes climb 
the hill just south of Nazareth, from which he could look down on the 
great caravan road between Egypt and the far east, and watch merchants 
with their goods, and soldiers and travelers pass by. He probably 
often talked with them and gathered illustrations from their business. 
(Matt. 13 : 45; 25 : 14.) 

He "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and 
man." (Luke 2 : 52.) 

His visit to Jerusalem to attend the passover feast, when he was 
twelve years old, gave him a long-desired opportunity to talk with the 
Jerusalem teachers regarding the things of God. 

4. His Occupation. Eighteen years of his life are passed by in 
silence. We know only that he was a carpenter. (Mark 6 : 3.) He 
learned a trade and worked at the bench, and thus dignified honest toil. 
In those years he experienced the sorrows and temptations of the poor, 
and thus learned how to meet their needs. (Matt. 11 : 28.) 



The New Testament 29 

TEST QUESTIONS 
How did the children of Israel help to prepare the world for Christ? 
How did the Romans unconsciously prepare for Christ's work? 
Of what value was the wide-spread knowledge of the Greek language? 
Give the five divisions of New Testament history. 
Give four interesting facts regarding Christ's early Hfe. 
Name four facts about his birth that suggest his humanity. 
Name three facts that mark him as divine. 
What do we know about Christ's home? 
Who were his teachers? 
How was he taught by observation? 
What languages did he know? 
What was his occupation? 
How did his daily toil help to prepare him for his after-ministry? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



I. The Early Life of Christ II. The Ministry of Christ 

III. The Church in Jerusalem 

IV. The Church Extending to the Gentiles 
V. The Church in All the World 



I. The Early j ^: i| g^^e Life 
I 3. His Education 
[ 4. His Occupation 



Life 
of Christ 



Books 

Matthew 
Luke 



LESSON II 
II. The Ministry of Christ 

The ministry of our Lord is commonly divided into: 

1. The Year of Obscurity. 

2. The Year of Popular Favor. 

3. The Year of Opposition. 

1. THE YEAR OF OBSCURITY 

From the baptism to the beginning of the Galilaean ministry. 
The Bible Account. The Gospel of John, chs. 1 to 4. 



30 



Preparation for Teaching 



This was the period of quiet work. The masses did not yet know him. 
Ahnost the entire time was spent in and about Jerusalem, where he 
offered himself to the Jewish people as their Messiah. 

The leading events of this year are: 

(a) The Baptism. 

(b) The Temptation. 

(c) The First Disciples. 

(d) The First Miracle. 

(e) The First Passover. 

(/) The First Conversions. 

(a) The Baptism. When he was thirty years of age our Lord left 

the Nazareth home and, in 
company with other pil- 
grims, came to the Jordan 
River to attend the ministry 
of John the Baptist. John's 
mission was to prepare the 
hearts of men for the coming 
Messiah, and to announce his 
appearance. (Matt. 3 : 1-12; 
John 1 : 26-34.) Jesus hum- 
bly took his place with those 
who had come for instruction 
and presented himself for 
baptism. He thus showed 
that his sympathy with 
sinful men was so deep 
that he would be treated 
as though he were one with 
them. 

The voice of the Father, 
"This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased," 

was the divine approval of the thirty years he had now hved on earth. 
The descent of the Spirit fiUed his human nature with power for the 

ministry upon which he was about to enter. 




(b) The Temptation followed closely upon the baptism and was 



The New Testament 3 1 

directly related to it. The baptism marked his entrance on his minis- 
try; the temptation tested and confirmed his fitness for the ministry. 
By the three temptations Satan sought to induce our Lord to give 
up his plan to suffer and die to save lost men, and, instead, to estab- 
lish a worldly empire, such as the Jews wanted. (Matt. 4 : 1-11.) 

(c) The First Disciples. Victorious over the tempter, our Lord 
entered at once on his active ministry. He first gathered about him a 
few good men who would be friends and companions. Chief among 
these were Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathanael and probably James and 
John. (John 1 : 35-51.) 

(d) The First Miracle. Accompanied by his new friends he went 
to Cana of Galilee, where, by providing wine when the supply was ex- 
hausted, he gave his disciples further evidence that he was the Christ. 
(John 2 : 1-11.) 

(e) The First Passover gave him an opportunity to exercise his 
authority as the Christ by driving the traders from God's house. (John 
2 : 13-17.) 

(/) The First Conversions. Nicodemus, a rich Pharisee, and a 
member of the Sanhedrin, came to Jesus by night, and our Lord an- 
swered his questions and satisfied the longings of his soul. (John 3 : 1-21.) 

On the journey from Judaea to Galilee he talked with the woman of 
Samaria at Jacob's well, and gave her eternal life. (John, ch. 4.) 

During this period he presented himself to the Jewish leaders as the 
long-promised Messiah, but they would not have him. They were 
made angry by his increasing activities, and threatened his life. They 
cast John the Baptist into prison, and would doubtless have treated 
Jesus in the same manner if he had remained within reach. 

The Master had much work yet to accomplish, and he knew he must 
avoid danger, for at least a time. And so, rejected by the Jewish 
nation, he left Judsea for a broader and more hopeful field in Galilee. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Give the three divisions of the public ministry of Christ. 
With what events does the year of obscurity open and close? 
Name six important events in the year of obscurity. 
What was the mission of John the Baptist? 
Why did Jesus ask to be baptized by John? 



32 



Preparation for Teaching 



What did the message, "This is my beloved Son," mean? 
What did the descent of the Spirit on Jesus do for him? 
What was the meaning of the temptations? 
Give the names of the first followers of Jesus. 
What was the first miracle? Where was it performed? 
How did this miracle help the faith of the disciples? 
How did Jesus show his authority at the first passover? 
Give an account of the first two conversions. 

To whom did Jesus offer himself in this period? How did they treat 
him? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



II. The 

Ministry 
of Christ 



. The Year 

of 
Obscurity 



(a) The Baptism 
{h) The Temptation 

(c) The First Disciples 

(d) The First Miracle 

(e) The First Passover 
(/) The First Conversions 



Book 

John, 
chs. 
1-4 



LESSON III 
n. The Ministry of Christ 

2. THE YEAR OF POPULAR FAVOR 

From the rejection at Nazareth to the feeding of the five thousand. 

The Bible Account. The Four Gospels. 

This period was spent in Gahlee, except a short visit to Jerusalem. 
The purpose of the Galilsean ministry was to attach to himself and to 
instruct a company of disciples who would continue his work after his 
short ministry was ended. He was also occupied throughout the year 
in proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and in bringing help to the 
common people who crowded about him. 

The most important events were: 

(a) The Rejection at Nazareth. 
(6) The Settlement at Capernaum. 

(c) The Call of the Twelve Apostles. 

(d) The Sermon on the Mount. 

(e) The Tours of Galilee. 

(/) The Feeding of the Five Thousand. 



The New Testament 33 

(a) The Rejection at Nazareth. Leaving Judaea after his rejec- 
tion there, our Lord passed through Samaria and came back to his old 
home, Nazareth. He went into the synagogue, and announced to his 
neighbors that he was the Messiah. This so enraged them that they 
sought to kill him. (Luke 4 : 16-30.) 

(6) The Settlement at Capernaum. Leaving Nazareth, he went 
to Capernaum (Luke 4 : 31), which now became his headquarters. 
From this city he started on all his preaching tours, and here many 
wonderful works were done. (Matt. 11 : 23.) He began at once to 
train his disciples. Andrew, Peter, James and John, who had been his 
friends for a year, were now invited to leave their nets and to spend 
their entire time with him. (Mark 1 : 16-20.) 

(c) The Call of the Twelve Apostles. From the many people who 
followed him our Lord made choice of twelve men to whom he would 
intrust the work of estabHshing his church and of extending the king- 
dom. (Luke 6 : 13; Matt. 10 : 1-8.) 

(d) The Sermon on the Mount followed immediately after the call 
of the Twelve, and set forth the nature of Christ's kingdom and the 
character of its members. (Matthew, chs. 5 to 7.) 

(e) The Tours of Galilee. Accompanied by his disciples, om- Lord 
made three circuits of eastern Galilee and visited many towns and 
villages. (Mark 6:6.) 

During this period he performed many miracles. (Matthew, ch. 8.) 
The miracles attracted the crowds to hear his messages, and also 
proved his divine nature. 

His preaching made a profound impression. They "wondered at 
the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth," and said, ''Never 
man spake like this man." 

He became famous. The whole country rang with his praises. 
For a while it looked as though the entire people might acknowledge 
him as Messiah. But the Jewish leaders, jealous of his popularity, 
sent spies into Galilee to watch him in order to find some excuse to 
arrest him. This opposition of the Jerusalem leaders grew rapidly, 
and our Lord saw that his ministry to the masses must soon end. 

(/) The Feeding of the Five Thousand. (John, ch. 6.) After the 
3 



34 Preparation for Teaching 

disciples had returned from a preaching tour and the sad news had been 
brought of the beheading of John the Baptist, Jesus asked the disci- 
ples to cross the lake with him for a season of quiet and meditation. The 
people saw him start, and, hurrying around the north end of the lake, 
were waiting for him when he landed. Touched with pity, the Master 
gave up his needed rest and spent the day in preaching and teaching. 
Toward evening, when the people were hungry, he miraculously pro- 
vided bread for them. The crowd was mightily stirred by the amazing 
miracle, and in their enthusiasm tried to force him to be their king. 
But Jesus withdrew from them. The next day, returning to Caper- 
naum, he preached a searching sermon in which he told them that he did 
not come to earth to make bread for people and to rule a worldly king- 
dom, but that his kingdom was spiritual. "The words that I speak 
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6 : 26-51.) 
The people were deeply disappointed. They wanted a poHtical Messiah 
who would fight battles for them and give them princely gifts. The 
people now left him in such numbers that it seemed as though he would 
be left alone. Then, sadly turning to his disciples, he said, "Will ye 
also go away?" This was the crisis of his ministry. 

The year of popular favor was now ended. Dangers were gathering 
fast, and Christ saw the need of leaving for a more retired resort, for 
there was other important work to be done before his enemies should 
take him. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
With what events does the year of popular favor begin and end? 
Where was the year spent? 

What purposes did our Lord carry out in this year? 
Name the six most important events of the year of popular favor 
Give an account of the rejection at Nazareth. 
Tell about the settlement at Capernaum. 
For what purpose did he call the Twelve? 
What does the Sermon on the Mount teach? 
What purposes did Christ's miracles serve? 
What impression was made by Christ's preaching? 
Under what circumstances were the five thousand fed? 
What was the attitude of the Jewish leaders toward Christ? 
What did Christ teach the people by the sermon in John 6 : 26-51? , 
What was the immediate effect of the sermon? 



The New Testament 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



35 



II. The 

Ministry 
of Christ 



1. The Year of 
Obscurity 



The Year of 
Popular 
Favor 



(a) The Baptism 
(6) The Temptation 

(c) The First Disciples 

(d) The First Miracle 

(e) The First Passover 
(/) The First Conver- 
sions 

(a) The Rejection at Naz- 

(6) The Settlement at 
Capernaum 

(c) The Call of the TAvelve 

Apostles 

(d) The Sermon on the 

Mount 

(e) The Tours of Galilee 
(/) The Feeding of the 

Five Thousand 



Books 

John, 
chs. 
1-4 



The 

Four 

Gospels 



LESSON IV 
II. The Ministry of Christ 

3. THE YEAR OF OPPOSITION 

From the feeding of the five thousand to the last week. 

The Bible Account. The Four Gospels, especially Luke. 

The first half of the year was spent in retired places in northern 
Galilee. The second half of the year was passed mainly in Persea, as 
he journeyed toward Jerusalem. 

Away from the multitudes, our Lord now devoted himself largely to 
the work of training his twelve disciples, that they might be prepared 
for his going away from them. They must also be instructed for their 
work of establishing the church. 

The great events of the year were: 

(a) Peter's Confession of Christ. 
(6) The Predictions of His Death. 

(c) The Transfiguration. 

(d) The Peraean Ministry. 

(e) The Raising of Lazarus, 



36 Preparation for Teaching 

(a) Peter's Confession of Christ. Talking with the disciples one 
day, the Master asked them what the people thought about him, and 
when they had answered, he asked them the direct question, "Whom 
say ye that I am?" Then Peter, speaking for them all, said grandly, 
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Hving God." It was a full and 
clear acknowledgment that Jesus was God, and our Lord was made 
glad. (Matt. 16 : 13-20.) The disciples were learning, but they had 
yet to grasp another great truth. 

(6) The Predictions of His Death. He now told them plainly 
that he must suffer and die at Jerusalem. (Matt. 16 : 21.) The words 
filled their hearts with dismay. They could not bring themselves to 
believe that such a terrible calamity could occur. (Matt. 16 : 22, 23.) 
They were sure that Jesus was the Messiah, but they had always 
thought that the Messiah would reign over a great temporal kingdom. 
From this time our Saviour kept the truth continually before them, for, 
unwelcome though it was, they must beHeve it in the end. (Matt. 
17 : 22, 23.) 

(c) The Transfiguration. At this juncture, when the disciples 
were sorely perplexed over what our Lord had said about his dying, he 
took them to the mountain top and was transfigured before them. 
They beheld his heavenly glory, and heard from heaven the assurance 
that he was indeed the Son of God. (Matt. 17 : 1-9.) The memory of 
what they saw and heard must have been a great help to them during 
the later days of anxiety. 

The six months in northern Gahlee were now ended. During the 
next six months he reappeared in pubhc places, continuing his work 
but steadfastly setting his face to go to Jerusalem, where he purposed 
to die for sinners. 

(d) The Peraean Ministry. He crossed to the east side of the Jor- 
dan River, and spent several months proclaiming the gospel to the 
people of that region, and in completing the training of the Twelve. 
He performed many miracles, and some of his most beautiful parables, 
including The Prodigal Son, The Lost Sheep, The Good Samaritan, 
The Great Supper and The Pharisee and the PubUcan, were spoken 
at this time. 

Throughout the year the opposition to him was becoming more bitter. 
The leaders of the Jev\'s had determined long before this that they did 



The New Testament 37 

not want his spiritual kingdom, and that they would not have him as a 

leader. They opposed him on the ground that: 
He was only a carpenter. (Matt. 13 : 55-57.) 
He had never attended the higher schools. (John 7 : 15.) 
His chosen helpers were only fishermen and publicans. 
He associated with sinners. (Luke 15 : 2.) 
Toward the close of the year he went to Bethany, and there performed 

the greatest miracle of his ministry — 

(e) The Raising of Lazarus. (John, ch. 11.) The miracle made a 
profound impression. It helped the faith of his disciples, and caused 
many Jews to beheve on him. It finally determined the Jewish leaders 
to put him to death. (John 11 : 47-53.) From that time they watched 
for an opportunity to take him. 

For a time Jesus withdrew to a quiet place. Then he traveled to 
Jerusalem. He passed through Jericho, where he healed Bartimseus 
and made Zacchaeus a disciple. (Luke 18 : 35-43.) Next he came to 
Bethany, where a few friends welcomed him at a supper. Only a few 
days more, and his ministry was to end. (John 12 : 1-8.) 

TEST QUESTIONS 

What special work did our Lord do in the beginning of this year of 
opposition? 

Where was the first half of the year spent? 

Name five important events of this year. 

What was Peter's confession? 

Why were the disciples so slow to believe Christ's predictions of his 
death? 

How did the transfiguration help the faith of the disciples? 

In what country did Christ spend the greater part of the last six 
months? 

Name some of the parables spoken at this time. 

Give four reasons for the opposition of the Jewish leaders to the 
work of Christ. 

Where and how was Lazarus raised? 

What effect did the raising of Lazarus have on the disciples? on 
many Jews? on the Jewish leaders? 

What decision did the Jewish leaders reach after this miracle had 
been performed? 



38 



Preparation for Teaching 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



II. The 

Ministry 

of 

Christ 



1. The Year of 
Obscurity 



2. 



The Year of 
Popular 
Favor 



3. The Year of 
Opposition 



(a) The Baptism 

(b) The Temptation 

(c) The First Disciples 

(d) The First Miracle 

(e) The First Passover 
(/) The First Conversions 
(a) The Rejection at Naz- 

(h) The Settlement at Ca- 
pernaum 
The CaUof the Twelve 
Apostles 
(d) The Sermon on the 
Mount 
The Tours of Galilee 
The Feeding of the 

Five Thousand 
Peter's Confession of 

Christ 
The Predictions of His 

Death 
The Transfiguration 
The Persean Ministry 
The Raising of Laz- 



(c) 



(e) 
(/) 

(a) 

(c) 
(d) 
(e) 



Books 



John, 
chs. 1-4 



The 

Four 

Gospels 



The 

Four 

Gospels 



LESSON V 
II. The Ministry of Christ 

The Week of His Death and His Triumph 

The Bible Account. The Four Gospels. 

It was the week of the Jewish passover, and probably three million 
strangers were in Jerusalem. Some had come in the hope that Jesus 
would now openly assert his authority and put himself at the head of 
the nation. On the other hand, the Jewish leaders were there to watch 
for an opportunity to arrest him in such a way as not to anger the 
people. (Matt. 26 : 3-5.) 

On Sunday morning he left Bethany and entered Jerusalem as a king. 



The New Testament 39 

The time for reserve was past. He openly proclaimed that he was the 
Messiah, and welcomed the glad hosannas of the people. (Matt. 21 : 1-11.) 
He entered the temple, looked about him quietly, and returned 
to Bethany. The people were doubtless disappointed that he did not 
take possession of the city and begin his rule. 

On Monday morning he again came to Jerusalem. He entered the 
temple as Lord, and showed his authority by driving out the traders 
who were desecrating his Father's house. (Matt. 21 : 12-17.) The Phari- 
sees, who had a revenue from the business of the traders, were offended. 

Tuesday was the last day of public teaching. When Jesus entered 
the temple, the Pharisees challenged his right to teach. He answered 
them and spoke some searching parables. (Matthew, chs. 21, 22.) 

On the afternoon of the same day he took the disciples out to the 
Mount of Olives, and, looking down upon the city, told them of its coming 
destruction and also of the end of the world. (Matthew, chs. 24, 25.) 

Wednesday was a day of retirement, perhaps for prayer and medita- 
tion. 

On Thursday evening, in company with the disciples, he celebrated 
the passover and instituted the Lord's Supper. (Matt. 26 : 17-35.) 
During the supper, and on the way to Gethsemane, the wonderful words 
in John, chs. 13 to 17, were spoken. Then came the agony in Geth- 
semane, the betrayal by Judas and the arrest. (Matt. 26 : 36-56.) 

The Trials. A preliminary hearing was held before Annas, a former 
high priest. (John 18 : 13.) Then came a trial before Caiaphas and 
part of the Sanhedrin. (Matt. 26 : 57-66.) Early on Friday morn- 
ing the Sanhedrin met and formally condemned Jesus to die on the false 
charge of blasphemy. As the Jews did not have the power to infhct 
capital punishment, they took him before Pilate, the Roman governor. 
(Mark 15 : 1.) 

Pilate cared nothing about blasphemy, and so the rulers changed the 
charge, and declared that Jesus had committed treason against the 
Roman Government. (Luke 23 : 1-24.) 

Mock trials were held before Pilate and Herod, and Pilate declared 
that Jesus was innocent, but the Jews insisted that he must die, and to 
satisfy them, Pilate sentenced him to be crucified. They led our Lord 
to Calvary (Matt. 27 : 33-50), where he died for our sins. (I Peter 
2 : 24.) 



40 



Preparation for Teaching 



On Satiirday his body lay in the tomb. 

Sunday was the day of triumph. Early on that morning he arose — 
the conquering Lord. During the forty days between his resurrection 
and his ascension he appeared at least twelve times to his own followers : 

1. He appeared to Mary Magdalene. (Mark 16 : 9, 10.) 

2. To the women. (Matt. 28 : 9.) 

3. To the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. (Luke 24 : 13.) 

4. To Peter at Jerusalem. (Luke 24 : 34.) 

5. To the ten disciples in the upper room. (John 20 : 19-24.) 

6. To the eleven disciples in the upper room. (John 20 : 26.) 

7. To the disciples at the Sea of Galilee. (John 21 : 1-24.) 

8. To the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee. (Matt. 28 : 16.) 

9. To five hundred brethren at once. (1 Cor. 15 : 6.) 

10. To James. (1 Cor. 15 : 7.) 

11. At the ascension. (Acts 1 : 9-12.) 

12. To Paul. (1 Cor. 15 : 8.) 

TEST QUESTIONS 

What journey did Jesus make on Sunday? what did he do that day? 

What did our Lord do on Monday? 

How did he spend Tuesday? 

What were the most important events of Thursday? 

Before whom was Jesus brought for trial? 

What charges were preferred against him? 

On what ground did they ask Pilate to condemn him to death? 

When did the resurrection occur? 

Name the twelve appearances of our Lord after his resurrection. 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 







(a) Triumphal Entry 


Books 






(b) Traders Driven 








Out 








(c) PubHc Teaching 




II. The 


The Week of His 


(d) Day of Retire- 


The 


Ministry 


Death and His ■ 


ment 


Four 


of Christ 


Triumph 


(e) Lord's Supper 
(/) Gethsemane 
(g) The Trials 
(h) Crucifixion 
(i) Triumph 


Gospels 



The New Testament 41 

LESSON VI 
III. The Church in Jerusalem 

From the day of Pentecost to the martyrdom of Stephen. 

The Bible Account. The Acts of the Apostles, chs. 1 to 8. 

Before his ascension our Lord commanded his disciples to wait in 
Jerusalem till they should be ''endued with power from on high" 
(Luke 24 : 49), and that they then should bear the glad tidings of sal- 
vation to the whole world. (Acts 1 : 8.) 

The great events of this first period of apostohc history are: 

1. The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

2. The Preaching of the Apostles. 

3. The Forming of a Christian Community. 

4. The First Persecution of the Christians. 

1. The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurred on the day of Pente- 
cost, ten days after the ascension of our Lord. The one hundred and 
twenty disciples were waiting in prayer in the upper room when the 
Spirit feU upon them and endowed them with miraculous gifts. (Acts 
2 : 1-12.) They were enriched in character and were empowered for 
service. 

2. The. Preaching of the Apostles. These men now openly pro- 
claimed that Christ both died and arose again for our salvation. The 
Jewish leaders, finding that the death of Jesus had not put an end to 
his cause, determined to silence the men who w^ere speaking in his name. 
But they could not be silenced; "with great power gave the apostles 
witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was 
upon them all." (Acts 4 : 33.) Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost 
resulted in the conversion of three thousand people, and soon the 
number became five thousand. There were daily additions to the 
number of disciples. 

3. The Forming of a Christian Community. The believers came 
together for prayer and conference and Christian fellowship, and at 
once a Christian society was formed. The ordinances of baptism and 
the Lord's Supper were observed, and believers were instructed in the 
word. (Acts 2 : 41-47; 4 : 32.) The apostles were the first leaders. 



42 Preparation for Teaching 

Soon the needs of the church called for the appointment of seven 
deacons to assist the apostles. Chief among these were Stephen and 
Phihp. (Acts 6 : 1-8.) 

For about four years the church was confined to the city of Jerusa- 
lem. The apostles seem to have forgotten their Lord's command to 
carry the gospel to all people, and perhaps did not grasp his meaning. 
They thought that the message of salvation was for Jews alone. The 
first teacher to see that Christianity was not tied to Jewish forms, but 
w^as independent of these forms and for the whole world, w^as Stephen, 
the layman. As he visited the people in their homes, and as he spoke 
in the various synagogues, he told about the freeness of the gospel of 
Christ. He was arrested and brought before the Jewish leaders, and 
in his defense told how, in the carrying out of God's redemptive plan, 
Christianity had come to take the place of the temple and the Jewish 
ritual. He also charged his accusers with murdering the Messiah. 
(Acts, ch. 7.) 

Now, for the first time, the Jewish leaders came to see that the fol- 
lowers of Christ were not a Jewish sect, but that they were adherents 
of a new religion. 

4. The First Persecution of Christians. The Jews, angered by 
Stephen's address, cast him out. of the city and stoned him to death. 
(Acts 7 : 54-60.) This first martyrdom was a signal for a general 
persecution, and many Christians who had been too well satisfied to 
stay in Jerusalem were driven out to carry the gospel to people in other 
places. Thus God caused the persecution to result in the extension 
of the church. (Acts 8 : 1-4.) 

TEST QUESTIONS 
How^ long did the period of the church in Jerusalem last? 
What command did our Lord give the disciples before he ascended? 
Name four great events of the period of the church in Jerusalem. 
What did the outpouring of the Holy Spirit do for the disciples? 
What was the theme of the apostles' sermons? 
How was the Christian community estabhshed? 
What new officers were soon appointed? 
Why did the apostles remain so long in Jerusalem? 
Who was first to teach that Christianity was independent of the 
Jewish forms, and for the w^orld? 

What good result followed the persecution of the Christians? 



The New Testament 43 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



III The f ^' '^^^ Outpouring of the Holy Spirit 

Church in i ^' '^® Preaching of the Apostles 

TpriicaiAtn I ^' '^^^ Forming of a Christian Community 

Jerusalem 4. The Persecution of the Christians 




LESSON VII 
IV. The Church Extending to the Gentiles 

From the martyrdom of Stephen to the appointment of the first 
foreign missionaries. 

The Bible Account. The Acts of the Apostles, chs. 8 to 12. 

During this period the barriers to the spread of the gospel were 
gradually removed, and the Jewish Christians were brought to recog- 
nize the right of the heathen to receive the grace of God. 

The great events of the period are: 

1. The Church in Samaria. 

2. The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus. . 

3. The First Gentile Convert. 

4. The Church in Antioch. 

1. The Church in Samaria. Philip the deacon, when driven from 
Jerusalem in the persecution that followed the death of Stephen, came 
to Samaria and preached Jesus, and many people beheved. (Acts 
8 : 5-12.) The Samaritans were part Jew and part Gentile; their 
worship was quite hke that of the Jews. When the gospel was carried 
to them, a step was taken toward the heathen. The Samaritans were 
a bridge over which the gospel would pass to the Gentile world. 

Philip, guided by the Spirit, led the African eunuch to Christ, and 
through him the gospel was spread. (Acts 8 : 26-40.) 

2. The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus. A specially trained man 
would soon be needed for the large work of carrying the gospel to the 
Gentiles. Saul, who had been a bitter persecutor of Christians, was the 
man of God's choice. The Lord Jesus appeared to him on the Damas- 
cus road, and from that time he was an ardent Christian. (Acts 9 : 1- 
22.) Soon after this he went to the desert of Arabia, where, like Moses, 
he stayed with God till fully equipped for his great ministry. In the 



44 



Preparation for Teaching 



meantime God was preparing the church and the world for the mission 
of Paul, as Saul came to be known. 

3. The First Gentile Convert. The leaders of the church must be 
brought to see that the heathen could be saved. Peter, a strict Jew 
who would have no dealings with the heathen, was at prayer in Joppa, 
when a vision taught him that Christ was for all men. At the same 
time Cornehus, a Roman officer at Caesarea, was divinely guided to 

send to Joppa for Peter. 
When Peter came to Caesa- 
rea, and his preaching to 
Cornehus resulted in his 
conversion and the outpour- 
ing of the Spirit upon him, 
Peter understood that God's 
mercy was for all men. Re- 
turning to Jerusalem, he re- 
ported the wonderful news 
to the brethren. (Acts, chs. 
10,11.) 

4. The Church in Anti- 
och. (Acts 11 : 19-26.) A 
new reHgious center, com- 
posed largely of Gentiles, 
was now established. Some 
behevers came to Antioch, a 
heathen city in the north of 
Syria, and there preached 

the gospel. God blessed the 

preaching of the word by 
these faithful home missionaries, and a large Christian community 
came together. Many of the converts were Gentiles. WHien the Jewish 
Christians at Jerusalem heard of the wonderful work of grace in Antioch, 
and that many GentUes had been received into the church, they sent 
Barnabas to see what it aU meant. When Barnabas saw the work, he 
was so convinced that these were genuine converts that he remained 
with them to help build up the church. The interest became so great 
that he brought Saul from Tarsus to assist him at Antioch. 

It was this church, made up largely of converted heathen, that inau- 




The New Testament 45 

gurated the great work of foreign missions, and, moved by the Spirit 
of God, set apart their greatest preachers, Barnabas and Saul, to repre- 
sent them on the foreign field. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
With what events does this period begin and close? 
Name four great events of this period. 

How did the preaching to the Samaritans help to prepare for the 
preaching to the Gentiles? 

What results followed Philip's preaching? 

TeU about the conversion of Saul. 

Who was the first Gentile Christian? 

What effect had the conversion of Cornelius on Peter? 

How was the church at Antioch established? 

What great leaders helped the work at Antioch? 

What important work was inaugurated by the Antioch church? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



IV. 


f 1. The Church in Samaria 


Book 


The Church 


2. The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus 




Extending to 1 


3. The First Gentile Convert 


The Acts 


the Gentiles 


4. The Church in Antioch 





LESSON VIII 
V. The Church in All the World 

From the first missionary journey to Paul's imprisonment at Rome. 

The Bible Account. The Acts of the Apostles, chs. 13 to 28. 

During this period the church entered upon its work of carrying the 
gospel to the entire world. The great events of the time are associated 
with Paul's three missionary journeys and his journey to Rome. 

The great events of this period are : 

1. The First Missionary Journey. 

2. The Council at Jerusalem. 

3. The Second Missionary Journey. 

4. The Third Missionary Journey. 

5. The Journey to Rome. 



The New Testament 47 

1. The First Missionary Journey. Barnabas and Saul, having 
been appointed missionaries to the heathen, left Antioch and crossed 
the sea to Cyprus. Here, for the first time, Saul was called Paul. 
From Cyprus they sailed to Perga, on the mainland of Asia Minor, 
where John Mark, who had been their helper, left them. The two 
missionaries preached in the synagogues and elsewhere in Antioch in 
Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. Wherever they went the Gen- 
tiles were most responsive to the gospel message. In every place the 
Jews opposed the missionaries and incited the Gentiles to join them in 
the opposition. Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch and reported 
to the brethren. (Acts 13 : 1 to 14 : 26.) 

2. The Council at Jerusalem. About this time some Jewish 
Christians came to Antioch and told the Gentiles that unless they ob- 
served the Jewish forms, they could not be saved. Much confusion 
followed. This led the Antioch church to commission Paul and Barna- 
bas to go to Jerusalem and ask the leaders of the church to decide the 
serious question of the relation of Gentile converts to Jewish forms. 
Paul told his story, and Peter gave an account of the conversion of 
Cornehus. The council decided that Gentiles had equal rights with 
the Jews to the blessings of Christian fellowship without the observance 
of the Jewish customs, but that it was wise to ask all Gentile converts 
to regard certain ceremonial laws of the Jewish converts with whom 
they were to live as brothers. (Acts 15 : 1-31.) 

3. The Second Missionary Journey. Paul and Silas were now 
the missionaries. They visited the churches established on the first 
missionary journey. Timothy joined them at Lystra. They then 
pressed westward through Asia, stopping for a time in Galatia, and 
preaching along the way till they reached Troas, on the ^gean Sea. 
Here Luke, the beloved physician, became a member of the party. 
The vision of the man of Macedonia led the party to cross the sea; 
thus the gospel messengers came to Europe. They preached with 
success at Philippi, Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens and Corinth. A year 
and a half was spent at Corinth, the commercial center of Greece. On 
the homeward trip they stopped at Ephesus, and then cam.e to Jerusa- 
lem. After an absence of about three years they reached Antioch. 
(Acts 15 : 36 to 18 : 22.) 

4. The Third Missionary Journey. Paul visited the churches he 
had estabhshed in Asia, and finally reached Ephesus, where he remained 



48 



Preparation for Teaching 



for nearly three years. After a visit to the churches in Europe he 
journeyed to Jerusalem, knowing well that imprisonment awaited him 
there, but hoping that he might have the privilege of preaching in 
Rome. (Acts 18 : 23 to 21 : 17.) 

5. The Journey to Rome. He came to Jerusalem to bring alms 
to the poor Christians of that city, but when the Jews saw him in the 
temple, they attacked him. He was arrested and sent to Csesarea, 
where he remained a prisoner for two years. He appealed to Csesar, 
and was sent as a prisoner to Rome. For two years he was imder arrest 
there. During this first imprisonment at Rome he wrote the epistles 
to the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians and to Philemon. 
He was tried and acquitted, but was afterward rearrested and confined 
in a dungeon. There he wrote his last letter, the Second Epistle to 
Timothy. This was about A. D. 68. Soon after this he was martyred 
under Nero. But his influence still Hved, and in time imperial Rome 
became a center of Christian teaching. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
With what events does the period "The Church in All the World" 
begin and end? 

Who were the first foreign missionaries? 

Name the important places visited on the first missionary journey. 

Why was the Council of Jerusalem called? 

What was the decision of the Council of Jerusalem? 

Who started on the second journey with Paul? 

What two men joined them on the way? 

Trace the second journey on the map. 

What important points did they touch on the second journey? 

Where did Paul spend much of the time on the third journey? 

Tell about Paul's imprisonment. 

What letters did he write during the first imprisonment at Rome? 

What letter was written during his second imprisonment? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



V. The 

Church in All 

the World 


1. The First Missionary Journey 

2. The Council at Jerusalem 

3. The Second Missionary Journey 

4. The Third Missionary Journey 

5. The Journey to Rome 


Books 

The Acts 
Pauline 
Epistles 



The New Testament 49 

LESSON IX 
The Land Where Jesus Lived 

1. ITS NAME 

It has been called "The Lord's land" (Hos. 9:3), ''The land of 
promise" (Heb. 11 : 9), "The holy land" (Zech. 2 : 12), "The pleasant 
land" (Dan. 8:9). Generally, however, the name given was one of the 
following: 

(a) Canaan — before it became the home of God's people. (Gen. 16 : 
3; 17 : 8.) 

(6) Israel — from the conquest till the Babylonish Captivity. (II 
Kings 5 : 2.) 

(c) Judah — after the Babylonish Captivity. (Neh. 5 : 14; Mark 1 : 5.) 

(d) Palestine — since the days of Christ. Palestine is the same word 
as Philistia. It was first used for the country of the PhiUstines. Jo- 
sephus applied it to the whole land. 

2. ITS POSITION 

Palestine was the center of the ancient world. (Ezek. 5 : 5.) It was 
near the great nations, that Israel might be helped by the civilizations 
that were worthy of imitation. It was separated from the surrounding 
nations by mountains and sea and desert, that the people might be 
peculiarly under the training of Jehovah. (Num. 23 : 9; Deut. 33 : 28.) 

It was favorably located for a rapid spread of the gospel when the 
missionary era should begin. 

3. ITS EXTENT 

The Palestine of to-day is about the size and shape of the State of New 
Hampshire. The distance north and south from Dan to Beersheba is 
about one hundred and fifty miles. The average width is about forty 
miles. 

4. ITS PHYSICAL DIVISIONS 

The land is divided into four parallel sections. 

(a) The Mediterranean Plain is a low, flat strip of land extending 

from Mt. Carmel on the north to the southern end of Palestine. It is 

one of the oldest highways in the world. It was the great caravan 

road between Egypt and Assyria. It was also a renowned warpath. 

4 



50 Preparation for Teaching 

Up and down this coast plain the great armies of the old world passed. 
The Israelites were rarely disturbed because their mountain home was 
inaccessible from the coast plain. 

(b) The Hill Country runs parallel with the Mediterranean plain. 
From Hebron in the south to the Plain of Esdraelon is a mountain dis- 
trict in the center of the land, eighty miles long by thirty miles 
wide, with an average height of twenty-two hundred feet. North of 
Esdraelon the mountains continue in Gahlee. The cities of the Israel- 
ites were on these mountains. God's people Hved on the hills; the 
heathen Kved in the valleys. 

(c) The Jordan Valley consists of a plain five or six miles wide, in 
the midst of which is the Jordan River, which extends almost the entire 
length of the land. The sources of the Jordan are three or four Httle 
streams that descend from the Lebanon Mountains and empty into the 
waters of Merom, thence flowing into the Sea of Galilee. Leaving the 
sea, the Jordan flows through the land and empties into the Dead Sea. 
The Jordan valley forms a trench which, at the Dead Sea, hes twelve 
hundred and ninety-two feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea. 

(d) The Eastern Tableland is the elevated district east of the Jor- 
dan River. The northern part is called Bashan. (Ps. 68 : 15.) South 
of Bashan was Gilead, and south of Gilead was the Land of Moab. 
In Moab was Mt. Nebo, from which Moses saw the promised land. 

5. ITS POLITICAL DIVISIONS 

After the conquest by Joshua the land was divided among the tribes 
of Israel. 

Under the kings the country north of Bethel and Jericho fell to the 
kingdom of Israel, and that south became the kingdom of Judah. 

In the New Testament period the land was divided into five provinces 
— three on the west of the Jordan, and two on the east. 

(a) Galilee was the name given to the northern province west of 
the Jordan. (Matt. 4 : 12.) It had a mixed population of Jews and 
Gentiles. 

(6) Samaria means a watch mountain, and was first applied to a 
high hifl standing in the valley of Shechem. Eventually the surround- 
ing district was called Samaria. The inhabitants were descended from 
Assyrians and Jews who iatermarried. (II Kings 17 : 24-29.) 

(c) Judaea was the southern district, and was the strictly Jewish 
section of the land. 



The New Testament 



51 



(d) Peraea was the region east of the Jordan referred to in Matt. 
4 :25. 

(e) Bashan was the province north of Persea. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Give the four general names by which the land is called. 
What was the position of Palestine? 

How were the people kept separate from other nations? why? 
Give the extent of the land of Palestine. 
Name the f om- parallel sections of Palestine . 
Describe the Mediterranean plain. 
Describe the Hill Country. 
Describe the Jordan vaUey. 
^Vhat was the eastern tableland? 
How was the land divided by Joshua? 
What was the division in the time of the kings? 
"V\Tiat were the five provinces of the New Testament period? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



Palestine 



1. Its Name 

2. Its Position 

3. Its Extent 

4. Its Physical 

Divisions 

5. Its Political 

Divisions 



(a) The Mediterranean Plain 

(6) The HiU Country 

(c) The Jordan VaUey 

(d) The Eastern Tableland 

(a) GalEee 

(b) Samaria 

(c) Judsea 

(d) Persea 

(e) Bashan 



LESSON X 
The Places Visited by Jesus 

The cities, towns and villages that interest us most are those made 
sacred by the presence of our Lord. They are: 

Bethlehem, where he was born (Matt. 2:1), was located on a hill 
six miles south of Jerusalem. This was also the birthplace and early 
home of David. (I Sam. 17 : 12.) Here Ruth and Naomi lived (Ruth 




The Places Visited by Jesus 
52 



The New Testament 53 

1 : 22), and near this place Rachel was buried, (Gen. 35 : 19.) Beth- 
lehem is now a prosperous Christian village with a population of eight 
thousand people. 

Nazareth, where he spent his boyhood and early manhood. (Luke 
4 : 16.) It nestles in a cup-shaped valley in the mountains of Galilee, 
seventy miles north of Jerusalem. Early in his ministry Jesus preached 
here and was rejected. (Luke 4 : 16-29; Matt. 13 : 56-58.) The most 
interesting object in modern Nazareth is the Fountain of the Virgin, 
to which Jesus and Mary must often have come. The population is six 
thousand, and, like Bethlehem, it is a Christian village. 

Bethany (called also Bethabara), where he was baptized by John 
(John 1 : 28, A. R.), was on the east side of the Jordan River. 

Cana, where he performed the first miracle. (John 2:1.) The 
traditional site is four miles northeast of Nazareth, 

Sychar. (John 4 : 5.) Here, at Jacob's well, Jesus conversed with 
the woman of Samaria. (John 4:6.) The distance from Jerusalem 
is thirty miles. 

Nain, south of Gahlee, where he raised the widow's son. (Luke 
7 : 11-15.) 

Capernaum, our Lord's home during the Galilsean ministry, was 
eighty-five miles northeast of Jerusalem, at the north end of the Sea 
of Galilee, whose waters were ' ' plowed by four thousand vessels of every 
description, from the war vessel of the Romans to the rough fisher 
boats." He taught in the Capernaum synagogue (John 6 : 59), and 
wrought many miracles. (Mark 1 : 21-34.) 

Bethsaida (John 12 : 21; Mark 6 : 45) was probably located on both 
sides of the Jordan River where it enters the Sea of Galilee. The city 
on the west bank was Bethsaida of Galilee, and that on the east bank, 
Bethsaida Julius. 

Chorazin (Matt. 11 : 21) was situated near Capernaum, Magdala, 
on the southwest border of the lake (Matt. 15 : 39) and Dalmanutha 
one mile farther south. (Mark 8 : 10.) Gadara (Luke 8 : 26) was on 
the east side. 

Tyre and Sidon, Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast, 
where Jesus healed the Syrophcenician woman's daughter, (Matt. 
15 : 21-28.) 



54 Preparation for Teaching 

Caesarea Philippi, at the foot of Mt. Hermon, the place of Peter's 
confession. Here Jesus taught his disciples concerning his death. 
(Matt. 16 : 13-28.) 

Jericho, near the Jordan River, seventeen miles northeast of Jeru- 
salem. Here Jesus healed the bUnd man (Luke 18 : 35-43) and saved 
Zacchaeus. (Luke 19 : 1-10.) The city was prominent in Old Testament 
times. (Joshua, ch. 6.) 

Bethany, at the foot of the Moimt of Ohves, two miles from Jerusa- 
lem. Jesus was often entertained here at the home of Mary and 
Martha. (Lulce 10 : 38-42.) Here he raised Lazarus from the dead. 
(John, ch. 11.) 

Jerusalem, where he taught and wrought miracles and was falsely 
accused and condemned. 

Emmaus, to which he went with two disciples on the resurrection 
afternoon. (Luke 24 : 13-15.) 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Where was Bethlehem located? What interesting events occurred 
there? 

Where was Nazareth located? 

WTiy is this town so interesting to us? 

What miracle was performed at Cana? 

What interesting event occurred near Sychar? 

How was Capernaum associated with the ministry of our Lord? 

Where was Bethsaida located? 

Wliere were Tyre and Sidon? 

Where was Caesarea Phihppi located? 

T\Tiat interesting events occurred at Jericho? 

Where was Bethany located, and for what is it noted? 

What important events occurred at Jerusalem? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



{Bethlehem. Nazareth. Bethany. Cana. Sychar. 
Nain. Capernaum. Bethsaida. Chorazin, Tyre 
and Sidon. Caesarea Philippi. Jericho. Bethany 
(Bethabara). Jerusalem. Emmaus. 



The New Testament 



55 



REVIEW OUTLINE 
I. The Early Life of Christ: 

Leading events: 



(a) 



His Birth 
His Home Life 



11. The Ministry of Christ: 
1. The Year of Obscurity 
Leading events : 
(a) The Baptism 
(6) The Temptation 

(c) The First Disciples 

(d) The First Miracle 

(e) The First Passover 
(/) The First Conversions 



(c) His Education 

(d) His Occupation 



3. The Year of Opposition 
Leading events: 

(a) Peter's Confession 

(b) The Predictions of 

Christ's Death 

(c) The Transfiguration 

(d) The Persean Ministry 

(e) The Raising of Lazarus 



2. The Year of Popular Favor 
Leading events : 

(a) The Rejection at Na- 
zareth 
(6) The Settlement at 
Capernaum 

(c) The CaU of the Twelve 

Apostles 

(d) The Sermon on the 

Mount 

(e) The Tours of Gahlee ■ 
(/) The Feeding of the 

Five Thousand 

III. The Church in Jerusalem: 

Leading events : 

(a) The Outpouring of the 

Holy Spirit 

(b) The Preaching of the 

Apostles 

IV. The Church Extending to the Gentiles 

Leading events : 

(a) The Church in Samaria 
(6) The Conversion of Saul 
of Tarsus 

V. The Church in All the World: 

Leading events : 

(a) The First Missionary 
Journey 

(6) The Council at Jeru- 
salem 



4. The Week op His Death and 
His Triumph 



The leading events of each 
day: 
(a) Triiunphal Entiy 
(6) Traders Driven Out 

(c) Pubhc Teaching 

(d) Day of Retirement 

(e) Lord's Supper 
(/) Gethsemane 
(g) Trials 
(h) Crucifixion 
(i) Triumph 



(c) The Forming of a Chris- 
tian Community 

(d) The First Persecution 
of the Christians 



(c) The First Gentile Con- 
vert 

(d) The Church in Antioch 



(c) The Second Missionary 

Journey 
{d) The Third Missionary 

Journey 
(e) The Journey to Rome 



PART III 

Bible Institutions and the Sunday 
School 



I 



LESSON I 
Places of Worship 

To foster the religious life of the people of Israel, whose history we 
have studied, five sacred places were appointed at different times for 

divine worship: 

1. The Altar. 

2. The Tabernacle. 

3. The Temple. 

4. The Synagogue. 

5. The Christian Church. 

1. The Altar was a rough, unhewn stone, and was usually erected at 
some place where a divine revelation had been given. (Gen. 12 : 7; 
26 : 24, 25; 35 : 1.) It was the first appointed meeting place between 
God and man. Here the devout offered prayers and praises and had 
fellowship with the Lord. The altar continued to be the place of pubHc 
worship until after the exodus from Egypt. 

2. The Tabernacle was the place of worship from the exodus until 
the time of Solomon — about five hundred years. The plan of the 
tabernacle was given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. It was a mov- 
able building, made of boards plated with gold, with a roof made of 
three curtains, one laid upon another. It was about forty-five feet 
long by fifteen feet wide, and was surrounded by a court one hundred 
and fifty feet long by seventy-five feet wide. (Exodus, ch. 27.) 

In the court, near the entrance of the tabernacle, stood the altar of 
burnt offerings. (Ex. 27 : 1-8.) 

Also in the court and close to the entrance was the laver. (Ex. 30 : 
18.) 

The tabernacle was divided into two rooms. The first room, the 
Holy Place, contained the golden candlestick (Ex. 25 : 31-40), the 
table of shewbread (Ex. 25 : 23-30) and the altar of incense. 
(Ex. 30 : 1-10.) 

The inner room, or Holy of holies, contained the Ark of the Cove- 
nant, the symbol of God's presence. This was a chest covered within 
and without with gold. Within were the stone tables containing the 

59 



6o 



Preparation for Teaching 



commandments, and on the top of the chest was the hd of gold, called 
the Mercy Seat, with the cherubim above it. 

The tabernacle, with the cloud of glory over it, taught the people 
that God was dwelling in their midst. (Ex. 25 : 8.) 



3. The Temple. 



m 


HOLY 
OF HOLIES 

UTMI 


UiT 


eoLoi 

amtm 


'p a 


TABUOF 
SMEWBREAO 



i 



□ 

UTAR OF 

r-oFFnuNQa 



■ ■»■■— ■^J 



Gbound Plan of the Tabernacle 



The first temple was built by Solomon and stood 
about four hundred years, when 
it was destroyed by the Baby- 
lonians in 587 B. C. It was a 
stone structure, and its dimen- 
sions were double those of the 
tabernacle. The furniture was of 
the same kinds as in the taber- 
nacle, but the various articles were 
larger in size and greater in num- 
ber ; in the temple there being ten 
candlesticks and ten tables of 
shewbread, instead of one of each. 
The altar of burnt offerings and 
the laver were much larger in the 
temple than in the tabernacle 
court. (I Kings, ch. 6.) 

The second temple was buUt 
by Zerubbabel after the Baby- 
lonish Captivity, and lasted about 
five hundred years. 

The third temple was a rebuild- 
ing and an enlargement of Zerub- 
babel's temple, and was the 
work of Herod the Great. The 
Romans destroyed it in A. D. 70. 

4. The Synagogue originated 
during the Captivity. The first 



OLKI^K 



temple had been destroyed, and the people, far away from their own 
land, met often for w^orship and instruction. These gatherings grew 
into the regular synagogue services. So helpful did these meetings 
prove to be that they were continued after the return to Palestine. 
In New Testament times synagogues were numerous. Christ and his 
disciples found these convenient places in which to preach the gospel. 



Bible Institutions 



6i 



5. The Christian Church. The other religious institutions were 
steps leading to the founding of the church, with its fuUer and more 
spiritual instruction and its more satisfying worship. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Name the five divinely appointed places for worship. 
What was the significance of the altar? 
How long did the altar continue to be the place for worship? 
For how long was the tabernacle the place of worship? 
What did the court of the tabernacle contain? 
What did the Holy Place contain? 
What was in the Holy of holies? 
TVTio built the first temple and how long did it stand? 
How did the temple differ from the tabernacle? 
Who built the second temple? 
Who was the builder of the third temple? 
How did the synagogue originate? 
What is the last and most important institution of worship? 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 





1. The Altar 


r (a) Altar of Burnt 






(1) Court 


Offermgs 
(b) Laver 
(a) Candlestick 




2. The Tab- . 
ernacle 


(2) Holy Place - 

(3) Holy of Ho- 


(6) Table of Shew- 

bread 
(c) Altar of Incense 


Places 
of 

Worship 




lies — Ark 


(a) Altar of Burnt 




(1) Court 


Offerings 
(6) Laver 








■ (a) Ten Candle- 




3. The Tem- 




sticks 




ple ^ 


(2) Holy Place - 

(3) Holy of Ho- 

lies — Ark 


(6) Ten Tables of 

Shewbread 
(c) Altar of Incense 




4. The Synagogue 






5. The Christian Church 





62 Preparation for Teaching 

LESSON II 
Sacred Services 

The principal ministers of religion in Old Testament times were 
the prophets and priests. 

The Prophet came to men from God. He was God's spokesman. 
His messages w^ere inspired. At times he would speak of future events. 
More often, however, his teachings had to do with present conditions. 
He was a preacher of righteousness. The burden of his message was the 
estabhshment of the kingdom of God. Abraham was a prophet (Gen. 
20 : 7), Moses (Deut. 34 : 10) and David (Acts 2 : 29, 30), as well as 
Samuel, EUjah, Ehsha, Isaiah and other great leaders. 

The Priest went from men to God, with the people's prayers and 
praises. He stood for them and pleaded their cause. 

The burdened Israelite who desired to approach God brought his 
animal to the court of the tabernacle or temple. At the altar of biu-nt 
offerings he laid his hand on the animal's head to express his penitence 
and consecration. The animal was kiUed and its blood sprinkled on 
the altar. The priest representing the w^orshiper then came to the laver, 
in w'hich he washed his hands, thus indicating the clean life that should 
follow the forgiveness of sins. He entered the Holy Place, passed by 
the sacred vessels, the candlestick and the table of shewbread, and 
came to the altar of incense, where prayer was offered. One day in the 
year the high priest passed beyond the veil that separated the Holy 
and the Most Holy Place, and stood before the Ark of the Covenant 
to intercede for the people. 

There were five kinds of sacrifice. 

1. The Burnt Offering. In this service the people gave evidence of 
the dedication of themselves to God. This sacrifice was expressive of 
the unworthiness of all the people, and not a confession of a particular 
sin. (Leviticus, ch. 1.) 

2. The Sin Offering was offered for the sin of the individual, and 
expressed his desire for forgiveness. (Lev. 4 : 5-12.) 

3. The Trespass Offering was made for injiu-ies to other people, and 
was accompanied with restitution. (Lev. 6 : 1-7.) 



Bible Institutions 63 

4. The Peace Offering expressed both thanksgiving and desire for 
fellowship with God. (Lev. 7 : 11-21.) 

5. The Meat Offering conveyed the simple idea of thanksgiving for 
God's manifold blessings. (Leviticus, ch. 2.) 

King David gave much attention to the developing of a ritual for 
the services of God's house. After the erection of Solomon's temple, 
most elaborate exercises were conducted. The devotions of the people 
were assisted by choirs of singers. 

In New Testament times religious worship was marked by simphcity. 
"They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, 
and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." 

TEST QUESTIONS 

Who were the principal ministers of religion in the Old Testament 
times? 

What was the oflB.ce of the prophet? 

Name seven great prophets. 

What was the oflEice of the priest? 

Give the steps of the offerer's approach to God through the priest. 

Name five kinds of offerings. 

What did the burnt offering express? 

What was expressed by the sin offering? 

What was the meaning of the trespass offering? 

What was the meaning of the peace offering? 

What idea was conveyed by the meat offering? 

How was worship in God's house changed in the days of David and 
Solomon? 

What characterized the worship of the early Christians? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



f (a) The 
Sacred f 1. Min- J Prophet 2. Sacri- 
Services \ isters 1 (6) The fices 

Priest 



(a) The Burnt Offer- 
ing 
(&) The Sin Offering 

(c) The Trespass Of- 

fering 

(d) The Peace Offering 

(e) The Meat Offering 



64 Preparation for Teaching 

LESSON III 
The Sacred Year 

Special religious services were appointed for the year to help the 
spiritual Hfe of the people and to strengthen the national unity. The 
great feasts, requiring the attendance of aU the men of Israel were: 

1. The Feast of the Passover. This was held in the spring, and 
commemorated the dehverance from Egypt. (Ex. 12 : 1-28.) The 
passover lamb was a type of Christ. (1 Cor. 5 : 7, 8.) 

2. The Feast of Pentecost came fifty days after passover, and cele- 
brated the close of the grain harvest. This feast was made forever 
memorable by the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. (Acts 
2 : 1-11.) 

3. The Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23 : 39-44) came in September 
or October. For seven days the people dwelt in booths or tents, to 
commemorate the hfe their fathers hved in the wilderness. This feast 
was also a thanksgiving for the completed harvests. 

The three lesser feasts were: 

4. The Feast of Trumpets. This was celebrated in the fall, and 
marked the beginning of the civil year. The first day of every new 
moon was announced by the blowing of silver trumpets and the burn- 
ing of sacrifice. But this first new moon of the new year was welcomed 
with special celebration. (Num. 10 : 10.) 

5. The Feast of Dedication celebrated the reconsecration of the 
temple after Judas Maccabseus had delivered the people from the 
Syrians. (John 10 : 22.) 

6. The Feast of Purim commemorated the deliverance of the people 
by Queen Esther, and was held in February or March. (Esth. 9 : 26- 
32.) 

Other sacred times were: 

1. The Weekly Sabbath. It was appointed at the time of the 
creation. (Gen, 2 : 1-3.) It became a sign of the covenant between 



Bible Institutions 65 

God and Israel (Ex. 31 : 13), and was consecrated for rest and 
worship. 

2. The Sabbatical Year. In the seventh year the land must be left 
untilled, and whatever grew in the field was to be given to the poor. 
(Lev. 25 : 1-7.) 

3. The Year of Jubilee was the fiftieth year, and in it all slaves were 
liberated, all prisoners were released, and all property was returned 
to its original owners. (Lev. 25 : 8-19.) 

4. The Day of Atonement. This was the most solemn celebration of 
the year. It was a day of fasting and prayer, when the people afflicted 
their souls because of their sin. It was the one occasion in the entire 
year when the high priest went into the Holy of holies where God dwelt 
between the cherubim. 

After most impressive preparatory services, the high priest, carrying 
the blood of the sin offering and a censer of burning incense, entered 
the Most Holy Place. There he sprinkled the blood on the Ark of the 
Covenant and burned the incense, to make atonement for his own sins 
and for the sins of the people. The services of the day represented the 
sinner's reconciUation to God. (Leviticus, ch. 16.) 

TEST QUESTIONS 

Name the three great feasts. 

Name the three lesser feasts. 

When was the feast of the passover celebrated, and what did it com- 
memorate? 

What was the meaning of the feast of tabernacles, and when did it 
occur? 

What did the feast of Pentecost celebrate? 

What event was remembered in the feast of dedication? 

What was celebrated in the feast of trumpets? 

What was remembered in the feast of Purim? 

Name four other sacred times. 

For what purpose was the weekly Sabbath appointed? 

"What was required during the sabbatical year? 

What benefits were given in the year of jubilee? 

How often did the year of jubilee come? 

What was the meaning of the Day of Atonement? 



66 



Preparation for Teaching 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



The 
Sacred ^ 
Year ' 


1. Great 

Feasts 

2. Lesser 

'■ Feasts 


(a) Pass- 
over 

(6) Pente- 
cost 

WTate--- 3. Sacred 
nacles rr-_ 
' (a)Trum- ^irnes 
pets 
(6) Dedi- 
cation 
. (c) Purim 


(a) The Weekly 
Sabbath 

(6) The Sabbati- 
cal Year 

(c) The Year of 

Jubilee 

(d) The Day of 

Atonement 


1 






LESSON IV 







The Sunday School 

The Sunday school is the teaching service of the church, and is in its 
principles and purposes a Bible institution. 

The duty of teaching God's word has always rested on his people. 

1. THE TEACHING SERVICE IN BIBLE TIMES 

1. The Israelites were commanded to teach their children dihgently. 
(Deut. 6 : 6-9, 20-25.) 

2. Moses was directed to gather the people together, men, women and 
children, to hear and learn, in order that they might do God's will. 
(Deut. 31 : 12.) 

3. Jehoshaphat, the reformer king, sent princes, Levites and priests to 
go throughout the land of Judah to teach the people from the book of 
the law of the Lord. (II Chron. 17 : 7-9.) 

4. In the days of Nehemiah, Ezra the Scribe conducted a remarkable 
Bible school in Jerusalem. Thirteen Levites assisted him in reading 
the Scriptures and in making the meaning plain to the people. (Nehe- 
miah, eh. 8.) 

5. The Jewish synagogue had a school for religious instruction that 
met daily. Children from five to ten years of age were taught the Bible. 
After that they studied the comments and traditions of the rabbis. 



The Sunday School 67 

On Sabbath afternoons another Bible school was conducted for both 
young and old, and the question and answer method was followed. 

6. Our Lord Jesus made constant use of the teaching method of im- 
parting truth. (Matt. 4 : 23.) Much of his time was devoted to the 
instruction of his twelve disciples. And after he had left them, they 
continued to teach in the synagogues and from house to house. (Acts 
5 :21; 19 : 8.) 

7. The early church estabUshed catechetical schools for both chil- 
dren and adults, that they might be thoroughly informed in the doctrines 
of Christ. 

II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN SUNDAY SCHOOL 

During the dark ages little attention was given to Bible study except 
among little groups of spiritual people, like the Waldenses. 

The Reformation and the rise of the Protestant churches in the 
fifteenth to seventeenth centuries gave a new impetus to Bible study. 
Luther and Calvin advocated the establishing of Christian schools, and 
both wrote catechisms for Christian instruction. Wesley, Whitefield, 
Zinzendorf and others gave much attention to the education of the 
children. 

The movement that has given us our modern Sunday school began 
with the work of Robert Raikes. He saw the children of Gloucester, 
England, spending their Sundays on the streets, cursing, gambling 
and singing lewd songs, and felt that it was aU due to idleness and 
ignorance. Raikes sought to reform these children by gathering them 
into a Sunday school in which he employed four teachers at twenty-four 
cents a day to instruct them in reading, writing and the church cate- 
chism. His thought at first was mere reformation. Gradually, how- 
ever, his school became a Bible school. 

After some years the church adopted the Sunday school as her own, 
making it a Bible school for all ages and classes. 

At first the class work consisted largely in the hearing of texts of 
Scripture that the pupils had memorized. 

In 1826 the "selected lesson plan" was issued in this country and was 
largely used. This gave a definite section of Scripture for study each 
week. A question book was issued, based upon the lessons. 

In 1872 the "uniform lesson system," so generally used to-day, was 
adopted, and resulted in a wonderful advance in Sunday-school work. 



68 



Preparation for Teaching 



The American Sunday School Union was organized in 1824. This 
association continues to-day. It has been a pioneer in organizing 
schools in destitute places. 

The International Sunday School Association has for many years 
been a great agency in making effective the Sunday-school work of 
all denominations of Christians. Much of the improvement made in 
the past thirty-five years has been due to this association. 

TEST QUESTIONS 

What command did God give to Moses in Deut. 31 : 12? 

\Miat did King Jehoshaphat do for the instruction of the people? 

Give an account of the synagogue Bible schools. 

WTiat evidence do we have of Bible teaching in the New Testament 
times? 

How did the early church provide for the instruction of young and 
old? 

Name some reformers who were interested in estabUshing Christian 
schools. 

Tell about the work of Robert Raikes. 

What was the method of instruction used in the schools at first? 

AMiat plan was adopted by many schools in 1826? 

\Miat lesson plan was adopted in 1872? 

T^liat is the work of the American Sunday School Union? 

"VMiat is the work of the International Sunday School Association? 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



The 
Sunday ^ 
School 



1. Bible 
Times 



(a) ISIoses 

(6) Jehoshaphat 

(c) Ezra 2. Modern 

(d) Synagogue Times 

(e) Christ 
(/) Apostles 



(a) Reformers 
(6) Raikes 
Selected 

Lessons " 
L'niform 

Lessons 
Internation- 
al Asso- 
ciation 



The Sunday School 69 



LESSON V 

The Interrelation of the Church, the Sunday 
School and the Home 

The Sunday school is a part of the church organization, a member of 
the church family, and is in no sense a separate institution. The 
Sunday-school service is a church service. 

I. THE RELATION OF THE CHURCH AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

1. The church should supervise the work of the school. The 
church session should exercise authority, but this should be done so 
wisely as to avoid any misunderstandings. The members of the session 
should be so much a part of the school as to be able to mold the policy 
of the school in a natural way. Their position as spiritual leaders and 
their manifest devotion to the work of the school should make their 
voices potent in the school management. 

2. The church should support the Sunday school. 

(a) Suitable accommodations and all needed equipments should be 
provided. Competent teachers should be secured for the school. 

(6) Church members should support the school by their attendance 
and interest. If the Sunday school is the church Bible-study service, 
the entire church membership should be connected with the school. 

(c) The church should see that the financial obligations of the school 
are promptly met. A sufficient amount of money should be appro- 
priated to meet the necessary running expenses. 

(d) The work of the Sunday school should be kept before the con- 
gregation by pulpit announcements, sermons and addresses. 

3. The Sunday school should be loyal. This loyalty should be 
shown by: 

(a) Submission to the authority of the church. 

(b) Attendance upon the other church services. 

(c) Faithful teaching of the doctrines of the church. 

II. THE RELATION OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AND THE HOME 

The Sunday school is not a substitute for the home. The Sunday- 
school teacher cannot take the place of the parent, and assume the re- 
sponsibility of father or mother. 



70 



Preparation for Teaching 



1. The Simday school should supplement home teaching. The 

effect of good Sunday-school teaching should be to encourage parents to 
fidelity in home training. Sunday-school teaching should add to the 
effectiveness of home teaching. When home teaching is lacking the 
school should make up for the lack. God has been pleased to use the 
Sunday school as a means of bringing religious influences into many 
godless homes. 

2. The Sunday school should exert a Christian influence on its 
pupils. The home has a right to insist that the instructors of the chil- 
dren shall themselves be sincere Christians. 

3. The home owes the Sunday school hearty cooperation in its 

important work. Parents should: 
(a) Speak weU of the Sunday school. 
(6) Encourage their children to regular attendance, 
(c) Help their children to prepare for the lesson period. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
What is the relation of the Sunday school to the church? 
Name two duties of the church to the school. 
How should supervision be exercised? 
In what ways should the church support the school? 
Name three respects in which the school should show its loyalty to 
the church. 

What is the relation of the school to the home? 
Name two duties of the school to the home. 
Name three things the home owes the school. 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



The Inter- 
relation of 
Church, Sunday 
School and 
Home 



Church and 
School 



II 

School and Home 



1. Supervision 

2. Support 

3. Loyalty 

1. Supplement Home 

Teaching. 

2. Christian Influence 

3. Cooperation 



The Sunday School 71 

I.BSSON VI 
The Purpose of the Sunday School 

The Sunday school is the church studying the word of God to know 
his will, and teaching its truths for the threefold purpose of: 

1. Leading Souls to Christ. 

2. Developing Christian Character. 

3. Training Christian Workers. 

1. Leading Souls to Christ. For many of our pupils this will mean 
a complete change of attitude toward our Lord. It will be a definite 
turning from a life of waywardness and willful disobedience to a life of 
surrender to God's will. 

For others it may mean the acknowledgment as Saviour of him whom 
they have loved from their earliest recollection. 

It is the first great business of the Sunday school to see that all its 
members love Christ as Saviour and follow him as Master. 

(a) The house-to-house visitation movement counts in this work 
by gathering thousands of new pupils into the school, and by bringing 
our forces into close touch with the spiritual needs of individuals. 

(6) Decision (or Witnessing) Day is helping with the emphasis it 
places on the necessity for a definite acceptance of Christ as Saviour 
and Lord. The Sunday-school superintendent may contribute much to 
this end by his sympathetic interest in every pupil, and by his reverent 
and spiritual leadership. 

(c) The life and instructions of the Sunday-school teacher, how- 
ever, are the most important agencies in the school in bringing spiritual 
influences to bear upon the pupil. 

2. Developing Christian Character. Sunday-school teaching is 
spiritual work. It means soul culture. When the Sunday-school 
pupil has been won to Christ, the work has been but fairly begun. 
Everything must now be done to help the pupil to form habits of Chris- 
tian Hving. 

(a) The prayer life must be strengthened. 
(6) Bible study must be encouraged. 

(c) The graces of the Spirit must be acquired. 

(d) Self-mastery must be won. 



72 



Preparation for Teaching 



3. Training Christian Workers. The privilege of giving to Christ's 
cause and the duty of engaging in some definite Une of activity should 
be laid upon the conscience. 

(a) The teacher should keep before the pupil the joy of Christian 
service. Christ dehvers not only from sin's guilt, but also from sin's 
selfishness. We are saved to serve if saved at all. 

(6) Young Christians should be placed in training classes where 
they may be thoroughly prepared for the high office of teacher of God's 
word. 

(c) In every department of the school, missionary instruction should 
be given. It should be the prayer and purpose of every school to send 
out strong men and women who shall carry Christ's message into the 
home and foreign mission fields. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
What is the threefold purpose of Bible teaching? 
What is meant by leading souls to Christ? 
How does the house-to-house visitation plan help in this work? 
What does Decision Day do? 
What influence can the teacher exert? 

TVTiat should be done for the building of the pupil's character? 
How may the pupil be trained for Christian service? 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



The Pur- 
pose of the 
Sunday 
School 



1. Leading Souls 

to Christ 

2. Developing 

Christian 
Character 

3. Training Chris- 

tian Workers 



(a) House-to-House Visitation 

(b) Decision Day 

(c) Life and Instructions 

(a) Prayer Life 

(b) Bible Study 

(c) Graces of the Spirit 

(d) Self-mastery 

(a) Joy of Service 

(b) Training Classes 

(c) Missionary Instruction 



The Sunday School 73 

LESSON VII 
The Sunday School Organized and Equipped 

Organization means order and efficiency. To secure satisfactory- 
results in the Sunday school there must be a thorough organization, 
with competent officers. 

1. The organized Sunday school should have the following officers: 

(a) The Pastor of the church is also pastor of the Sunday school. He 
should be in the school and should give to it his earnest thought and his 
loving effort. He wiU be the friend and chief adviser of the superin- 
tendent, and the spiritual leader of the entire school. If it does not 
seem necessary that he teach the training class or an adult Bible class, 
he may have the large opportunity of teaching the various classes in the 
absence of teachers, and so come into close touch with all the pupils. 

(6) The Superintendent is the executive officer of the school. He 
should be a man of prayer, ever seeking divine guidance, a Bible student, 
an example to the entire school in his knowledge of the lesson for the 
day. He should be a lover of children, whose sympathies will attach 
to him both teacher and pupil. He should be a good manager, skillful 
in finding competent people, and successful in getting them to work. 

(c) The Assistant Superintendent should be ready to take the 
superintendent's place at any time. He may also note the absence of 
teachers, and see that classes are provided with substitutes. He should 
welcome new pupils and assign them to classes. 

(d) The Secretary is the head of the department of records. It is his 
duty to secure a complete enrollment of the school, keep an accurate 
record of the attendance of teachers, and officers, and pupils, and report 
to the school regularly. 

(e) The Treasurer is appointed to look after the Sunday-school 
finances. It is his duty to take care of the contributions, to keep before 
the school the various causes to which the school contributes and to help 
to devise ways of increasing the gifts of the school. 

(/) The Librarian ought to know books. He should be able to give 
intelligent help to those who come to the library for books. He may 



74 



Preparation for Teaching 



occasionally bring to the attention of the school, missionary and other 
books of special value. 

(gf) The Musical Director may contribute much to the success of 
the school by making the singing devotional and spiritual. 

2. Sunday-School Equipment. It is desirable that the departments 
of the school be separated if possible. The elementary grades especi- 
ally need their own room. If separate rooms are impossible, screens 
or curtains should be used. 

There should be a good supply of Bibles, hymn books and lesson 
helps. A blackboard will be needed, also charts, maps, a good Hbrary 
and a teachers' reference hbrary. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Why does the Sunday school need a thorough organization? 
What can the pastor do for the Sunday school? 
Name some qualifications of a good superintendent. 
What are the duties of the assistant superintendent? 
What are the duties of the secretary? 
What are the duties of the treasurer? 
How may the librarian help the school? 

How can the musical director contribute to the success of the school? 
Name some things that should be included in the equipment of the 
school. 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 









(a) Bibles 


The 
Sunday 
School 




(a) Pastor 
(6) Supt. 




Hymn 
Books 




(c) Asst. Supt. 




Lesson 


Organ- 


1. 


(d) Secretary 


2. Equip- 


Helps 


ized 


Officers 


(e) Treasurer 


ment 


(6) Black- 


and 




(/) Librarian 




board 


Equip- 




(g) Musical 




Maps 


ped 




Director 




Charts 








Library 



The Sunday School 75 

LESSON VIII 
The Sunday School Graded 

Sunday-school grading is the grouping of pupils according to age, 
attainment and common interests, under teachers especially fitted 
to teach each grade. In the graded system provision is made for the 
transfer of the pupil to a new environment at each stage of his develop- 
ment. 

1. THE DEPARTMENTS OF A GRADED SCHOOL 

(a) Cradle Roll. This is a provision for the little folks under three 
years of age. They are too young to attend the sessions of the school, 
but the Cradle-Roll superintendent enters their names on the roll, visits 
their homes, sends birthday cards and keeps in touch with the Httle 
ones till they are old enough to come to the school. 

(b) Beginners. The little tots from three to six years of age. These 
children have their own exercises and need a separate room or a space 
screened off. 

(c) Primary. At six years of age the beginners are advanced to the 
regular Primary Department, where they remain until their ninth year. 

j The Primary Department and the beginners may meet together for 

I general exercises. 

I (d) Junior. Pupils from nine to twelve years of age. In the Prunary 

Department girls and boys are together in the same class, but in the 
Junior Department they should be separated, with classes for boys and 
classes for girls. 

(e) Intermediate. Pupils from twelve to sixteen years old. This is 
a most critical period, and is the time when it is most difficult to hold 
boys in the school. 

(/) Senior. From sixteen to twenty-one is the senior age. It is 
highly desirable at this stage to encourage class organizations. 

(g) Teacher Training. In some schools the pupils have the choice of 
passing from the Intermediate into either the Senior or the Teacher- 
training Department. 



76 



Preparation for Teaching 



(h) Adult. In some schools this department is entered at sixteen, 
and in others at twenty-one. 

(i) The Home Department is for those who cannot attend the 
school sessions, but wish to study the lessons and be connected with 
the school. 

2. PRINCIPLES OF GRADING 

(a) Pupils are advanced from grade to grade partly on attainment 
and partly according to age. Those who do the required work should 
be advanced with honor, and should have special recognition at the 
regular promotion day exercises. 

(6) The teaching in each grade should be adapted to the needs of the 
pupil at that stage of development. 

(c) Teachers should remain in one department. Change of depart- 
ment should mean a change of teacher for the pupils. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
What is meant by grading the Sunday school? 
Name the departments of the Sunday school. 
How is the Cradle RoU conducted? 
Who belong to the Beginners Department? 
Who are the primary children? 

What change is made in class arrangement in the Junior Department? 
On what basis should pupils be promoted? 
Name two other principles of grading. 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE: 



The 
Sunday 
School 
Graded 


1. Departments 
. 2. Principles 


■ (a) Cradle Roll (/) Senior 
(h) Beginners (g) Teacher 

(c) Primary Training 

(d) Junior (h) Adult 

(e) Intermediate (i) Home 

(a) Advancement on Age and 

Attainment 

(b) Teaching Adapted 

(c) Teachers in One Department 



The Sunday School 77 

LESSON IX 
Methods of Building Up the Sunday School 

1. Teacher Training. The most serious problem the Smiday school 
has to meet is how to secure more teachers and better teaching. The 
school is a failure unless the teaching is well done. 

Every school should have a permanent class for the training of pro- 
spective teachers. The most promising yoimg people of sixteen years 
and older should be invited to enter this class. The teacher should be 
the best that can be found. The text-book should be one of the stand- 
ard teacher-training courses, with lessons on the Bible, the school, the 
pupil and the teacher. In some schools where a training class is held 
at the regular Sunday-school hour, a second class, whose membership 
is composed of regular teachers in the school, is organized to meet at 
some convenient time during the week. 

2. Teachers' Meeting. To reach the highest efficiency in its work, 
the officers and teachers must come together to: 

(a) Consider the needs of the school. 
(6) Plan to improve the school. 

(c) Study the best methods of teaching the lesson. 

(d) Exchange thought and encouragement. 

(e) Unify the work. 

3. Neighborhood Visitation. The membership of the school may be 
increased by a systematic visitation of all the homes in the parish or 
neighborhood. The visitation should be thoroughly planned. The 
visitors should secure the name, address and denominational preference 
of each person, and learn whether he attends any school. A printed 
invitation to attend the Sunday school can be left at the homes. To 
secure permanent results, the visitation must be followed up faithfully. 

4. The Organized Class Movement is a means of interesting adults 
and of holding them in the school. 

The International standard organized class has five officers — teacher, 
president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. There must be at 
least three committees. These are usually the devotional, membership 
and social committees. The members must be at least sixteen years of 



78 Preparation for Teaching 

age. The International certificate is given to classes that come up to 
the standard. The class elects its own officers and conducts its own 
meetings, but it is a regular department of the Sunday school. 

5. The Home Department. This is a department for those who can- 
not attend the regular sessions of the school. It includes the aged, in- 
valids and those who are kept away by home duties or by other work. 

The membership condition is that at least a half hour each week be 
given to the study of the Sunday-school lesson. 

The organization caUs for a competent superintendent, and as many 
visitors as the size of the department may require. The visitors call at 
the members' homes at least once in three months, leaving a quarterly 
lesson help and an envelope for record of lessons studied and for vol- 
imtary contributions. 

A well-conducted Home Department increases attendance at the 
regular sessions of the school. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
How may a teacher-training class be organized in the school? 
Name five advantages of a teachers' meeting. 
What is the purpose of neighborhood visitation? 
Name some things that the visitors may do. 
What is the purpose of the organized class movement? 
What is the relation of the organized class to the school? 
What is the purpose of the Home Department? 
What effect does the Home Department work have on the school 
attendance? 

What are the duties of the superintendent and visitors? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



Methods of 


f 1. Teacher Training 4. Organized Class Move- 


Building up 


2. Teachers' Meeting ment 


the Sunday 


3. Neighborhood Visita- 5. Home Department 


School 


tion 



The Sunday School 79 

LESSON X 
The Sunday School and Missions 

The Bible we study and teach is God's message to the whole world. 
He has given his truth to us, that we may carry the blessing to others. 
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations," is a command to the Sunday 
school. 

The missionaries and the missionary supporters of to-morrow must 
be found in the Sunday-school boys and girls of to-day. Every Sunday 
school should be a missionary society. 

It should be the aim of every Sunday school to have a representative 
in both the home and the foreign mission field. 

To this end the school must adopt a definite missionary plan. There 
should be: 

1. A Missionary Committee. This should be regarded as one of the 
most important committees of the school. It should meet at least once 
a month for prayer and conference. It should see that the school is 
well supphed with missionary Hterature. It should plan the mission- 
ary programmes, see that missionary instruction is given in the various 
departments, and keep before the school this greatest enterprise of the 
Christian church. 

2. Missionary Instruction. Every pupil in the school should re- 
ceive missionary instruction adapted to his need. Text-books are now 
provided that enable us to give graded missionary information in every 
department of the school. Much intelligence may be given through the 
supplemental lessons. The mission lesson in the regular lesson series 
should always be used. Many lessons during the year give opportunity 
of presenting missionary truth. 

3. Missionary Exercises. A missionary programme for a depart- 
ment or for the entire school is of great value. 

A brisk five-minute talk once a month by the pastor, superinten- 
dent, or invited speaker will help to awaken and maintain interest. 

A missionary chapter may often be selected for the general Bible 
reading in the opening exercises of the school. 



8o 



Preparation for Teaching 



In prayer in the general exercises the mission field should often be 
remembered. 

4. A Missionary Library and Museum. A good supply of the best 
missionary books should find a place in the Hbrary. The many intensely 
interesting books of missionary experiences should be brought to the 
attention of the pupils. Maps, curios, charts and pictures should be 
provided. 

5. Missionary Contributions. There should be definite times for 
the receiving of missionary offerings. Pupils should be taught to 
consider it a great privilege to help in supporting the missionary 
work of Christ's church. In many schools the entire offerings are 
devoted to missionary work, while the school is supported by the 
church. This arrangement is the ideal. Other schools devote one or 
two offerings a month to missions. 

The question should be brought tenderly, earnestly and repeatedly 
to every pupil: Is God caUing me to enter the home or foreign mission 
field? 

TEST QUESTIONS 

Give two reasons why missions should be taught in the Sunday school. 

WTiat should be the aim of the school regarding missions? 

State some things that the missionary committee can do? 

Name four ways of imparting missionary instruction in the class. 

Name four things that may be done for missions in the general exer- 
cises of the school. 

How can the library help the missionary interest? 

What may be done to help the missionary contributions? 

What question should every pupil be asked? 



BLACKBOARD OITTLINE 



The Sunday 

School and 

Missions 



1. Missionary Committee 

2. Missionary Instruction 

3. Missionary Exercises 



4. Missionary Library and 

Museimi 

5. Missionary Contribu- 

tions 



PART IV 
The Pupil 



The author acknowledges his indebtedness to Miss Helen Gill Lovett 
for valuable material on "The Pupil" and "The Teacher." 



LESSON I 
The Importance of Knowing the Pupil 

"Marble and granite are perishable monuments, and their inscrip- 
tions may be seldom read. Carve your name on human hearts; they 
alone are immortal." (Theodore L. Cuyler.) 

I. WHY THE TEACHER SHOULD STUDY THE PUPIL 

1. The needs of the pupil require it. Does not the gardener study 
how best to care for his various plants? To some he gives much water, 
to others, httle; some require much sunshine, others none. 

Must not the dressmaker adjust her patterns to fit the peculiarities 
of the individual? So the teacher must know the child mind, for there 
he plants his seed and adapts his broad method to the individual Hfe. 

2. The nature of teaching requires it. The teacher is not a clay- 
modeler — clay is passive and makes no resistance; nor is he a sculptor, 
to hammer and chisel off unnecessary corners until a beautiful result 
appears, for the marble makes neither objection nor effort; nor is he 
merely a kind friend filling the pupil's mind, as a storehouse is packed 
with treasure, to be drawn out when needed. Teaching is not simply 
telling the lesson or hearing it; these are but parts of the process. 

The word "education" comes from a word meaning "to lead out." 
To lead the child out to meet the experiences of hfe in a way that will 
bear him Godward; to lead the child to feel, to think and to do right, 
to himself, to his fellow-men and his God — this is the privilege of every 
teacher. Teaching, then, is causing another to feel and to know 
the right in order to do it. 

II. WHAT THE TEACHER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE PUPIL 

Through the study of the child the teacher will learn: 

1. The general characteristics of the pupils in the various stages 

83 



84 



Preparation for Teaching 



of development, that he may realize that pupils of various ages require 
different treatment. 

2. The individual interests of the pupils. He wiU see that in- 
terest must be created before attention is won. He will discover that 
what interests Johnny does not appeal to Jack, and so he will learn 
to approach each boy through his individual interests. This is the line 
of least resistance. 

3. The meaning of the child's actions. The infant cries to get 
the attention he needs or the thing he craves. The child's demand for 
toys and the truant's running away are but the same kind of warning 
that either intellect or heart is being starv^ed. If the teacher under- 
stands this and the demands of nature are supphed, the work of the 
teacher will be preventive, rather than corrective, and boys will be kept 
in the Sunday school. 

The child's wriggling, the boy's boisterous laugh and the giggling 
of the girls have their causes in natural phases of development. These 
should be properiy interpreted, instead of being crushed. Many a boy 
has been ruined because parents and teacher have misunderstood his 
actions. 

4. The two types of children. Most children can be classed under 
the two general types, motor and sensory, but some are a combination 
of the two. 

(a) The motor child, like the motor car, is easy to start, but makes 
considerable noise in starting; then he is swift to travel and quite at- 
tractive; but he may also stop just as suddenly as he started. Impul- 
sive and enthusiastic, he is quick to comprehend and to decide, but is 
as quick to change his mind. Action precedes dehberation. He 
acquires knowledge readily and forgets even more easily. 

(6) The sensory child is quiet and thoughtful, slower to respond, but 
steadier when turned; he is possibly less attractive at first, but he wears 
well. It is more difficult for him to acquire knowledge, but he retains 
for a longer time what he has learned. 

III. HOW SHALL THE TEACHER STUDY THE PUPIL? 

1. Watch him (unobserved, of course). 

2. Visit his home. Note how he is rewarded and punished; how 
he is taught; the motives that appeal to him; whether he obeys from 
fear or love. Note the atmosphere of the home. 



The Pupil 85 

3. Have him visit you socially and with the class, but do not talk 
religion to him every time you meet him. 

4. Know his companions, his work, his play and his plans for life. 
Know the Monday and Saturday boy as well as the Sunday boy. 

IV. HOW SHALL THE TEACHER USE THIS KNOWLEDGE 
OF THE PUPIL? 

1. Love the things he loves, if you can do so with propriety, and 
make him love you, thus establishing sympathy. 

2. Study the things about which he knows, and connect your lesson 
with these things. See him play his games; have him explain his toy. 

3. Judge him fairly and gain his confidence. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Why is it necessary to know the child's mind? 
Explain why the teacher is not like a sculptor or clay-modeler. 
What is teaching? 

Name three things the teacher should know about the pupil. 
What may we learn from the actions of children? 
What is meant by a motor child? 
What is meant by a sensory child? 
How can the teacher study the child? 
How can the teacher use the knowledge ot the child? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



The 

Importance 

of Knowing 

the Pupil 



1 Axrv., 9 / (1) Needs of Pupil 

1. wny.^ < ^2) Nature of Teaching 

f (1) Characteristics 

2. What? \ (2) Interests 

I (3) Actions 



LESSON II 
Knowing the Pupil by His Play 

"Come let us hve with the children." (Froebel.) 
A class of boys, out walking with a teacher, finding the distance 
longer than they anticipated, grew weary, and the afternoon's enjoy- 



86 Preparation for Teaching 

ment was in danger of being spoiled. But the tactful teacher, noting 
the difficulty, quickly changed his class into a revolutionary army, and 
marched them singing over the remaining distance. Weary legs and 
weary miles were forgotten in the interest of the new game, and every- 
one arrived at the destination happy and enthusiastic. So great is the 
power of play. 

The enjoyment of play is rooted in every normal child. 

An agency that has so much to do with child hfe should be understood 
by the teacher. 

I. PLAY MEETS THE NEEDS OF THE PUPIL 

1. Physical, (a) Play uses up surplus energy. The child who 
has been compelled to remain quiet and attentive has stored up energy 
which, unless it has an outlet, will force out the cork and damage 
something. If the boy leaves the Sunday-school room noisily and yells 
in the corridors and in the neighborhood, it is because his play energy 
must have an outlet. 

(6) Play trains the body for future life. Ball games, skating and 
swimming develop the muscles, and the fresh air and sunshine buUd 
for him a reliable constitution for his adult life. 

2. Mental. The mental life is developed through the use of the 
senses in play. The boy becomes alert, and his judgment is trained. 

3. Moral. Justice, unselfishness and loyalty are virtues that may 
be attained through play. The necessity of obeying " the laws of the 
game" develops manly qualities. 

II. PLAY REVEALS THE TENDENCIES OF THE PUPIL 

1. The infant is an investigator. His hungry senses are being fed 
by new sights, sounds and tastes, which furnish him with the basis for 
future knowledge. He delights to pull, twist and tear everything he 
can lay hands upon. This is not because he is mischievous, but because 
he is obeying the spirit of investigation. The infant who punches in the 
head of a drum to find what makes the noise is searching for knowledge. 
His plays are experimental and solitary. He does not care to share 
them with others. He can be happy alone with his toys. 

2. The child is a competitor. He longs for a playmate with whom 
he can match his skill. He has not yet learned to set aside his selfish 
aims for the good of the whole number. His games require more skill 



The Pupil 87 

and knowledge than the plays of infants. He is an imitator; the girl 
plays house, the boy pretends to be a policeman or a fireman . 

3. The youth is a cooperator. He has the ''gang instinct." He 
joins the club and wears the club uniform and badges. He likes base- 
ball, football, tennis. He prefers games that call for head work and 
team work. He glories in the sacrifice, but he likes to do his best if any 
of the other sex are watching. 

III. PLAY RENDERS DUTY PLEASANT TO THE PUPIL 

A boy may work hard all afternoon to build a house or a dam, when 
he is really too tired to bring coal or run errands. The child who would 
tire of work in an hour, plays for a whole afternoon. Work is forced; 
play is spontaneous. Work is " have to " ; play is "want to," When 
the child does a thing because he lilces it, the work element is gone and 
the play spirit enters. 

IV. THE VALUE OF THIS KNOWLEDGE TO THE SUNDAY- 
SCHOOL TEACHER 

1. Knowing the ''why" of the pupil's play, the teacher will under- 
stand the interests of the pupil and be able to sympathize with him. 

2. Knowing the tendencies of the pupil, he will be able to adapt his 
teachings to his peculiar needs. 

3. Knowing the attitude of the child toward play, the teacher will 
see that to give study the semblance of play is to have the battle half 
won. 

4. While we cannot actually play in the Sunday school, we can in- 
corporate the principles of play into our work. Change of position, a 
march, an enthusiastic song, a concert recitation, may bring relief to 
the otherwise monotonous lesson period. ' 

TEST QUESTIONS 
How does play meet the physical needs of the pupil? 
How does play help the development of the mental life? 
What does play do for the pupil's moral life? 
What does play reveal regarding the infant? 
What do plays reveal regarding the child? 
What does play indicate as to the youth? 
How does play differ from work? 
Of what value is this knowledge to the Sunday-school teacher? 



Preparation for Teaching 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 





f (1) Physical 




r I. Play Meets Pupil's Needs ] (2) Mental 

[ (3) Moral 


Know- 


ing 


[ (1) Infant Investigator 
II. Play Reveals Tendencies \ (2) Child Competitor 


the 
Pupil 


[ (3) Youth Cooperator 


by His 


III. Play Renders Duty Pleasant 


Plays 


f (1) Sympathy 




IV. Value to Teacher \ (2) Adapt Teaching 




[ (3) Win Attention 



LESSON III 
Infancy. The Cradle Roll and the Begmners 

(From Birth to Six Years) 



"Just a yearning to be learning anything at aU." 

I. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. This is the period of greatest physical growth. The child out- 
grows dress and trousers at a rate which alarms the economical mother, 
who intended that Betty and BiUy should wear last year's clothes. 
Unpoetic as it may seem, the little darhng is reaUy but a Httle animal 
developing into maturity. 

2. A striking characteristic of the infant is restlessness. This is 
nature's safeguard against one-sided development. The tiny babe, 
kicking and playing with his toes, and the smaU boy, squirming and 
wrigghng under repression, are developing aU their muscles. Animals 
who cease to move die. Any part of the body not exercised shr inks in 
size and power. We see in the horse the evolution of an animal which 
used only its middle toe; constant use developed it, and constant neg- 
lect of the others resulted in their disappearance. When able to under- 
stand, the child wiU be taught the necessity for self -development. 
In infancy restlessness is nature's way of securing a full-rounded physi- 
cal development. 



The Pupil 89 

II. MENTAL DEVELOPMENT 

The senses are ravenously hungry. They are alert for every new 
sensation. The infant uses his senses. He learns the language, and 
has his wonderful first views of things, and gathers a mass of varied 
material. He learns much by way of the eye gate, but the good teacher 
will appeal to all the senses he can. In teaching about the temple 
he wiU describe it in words, show a picture or model that the eye can 
see, and may permit the pupil to handle this, and perhaps make one for 
himself. Impressions that are strengthened through the various senses 
become full, clear and permanent. This fact frequently leads teachers 
to use hearts, crosses, stars, etc., on the board, but care should be taken 
lest the pupil sees nothing but shape and color. Add to the black- 
board illustration questions that wiU test whether it is understood. 

1. Curiosity is a leading characteristic of the infant. Little boys 
and girls are always asking questions. Curiosity is a necessary pre- 
liminary to knowledge. The child sees the rainbow, and asks whence 
it came. He is eager ever to know the "why" of things. One of the 
quickest ways to arouse interest in the class work is through curiosity. 

2. Imitation is another marked and important characteristic of 
infancy. "Curiosity lays the foundation of knowledge; imitation, of 
character" (Murray). The child copies others. He talks, eats, thinks, 
like his parents or others who are near to him. Imitation has three 



(a) Simple or muscular imitation. The child learns to wave "bye- 
bye," to throw a kiss and to clap his hands. He controls the larger 
muscles long before he can control the smaller muscles. 

(6) Realistic imitation, when the child feels he is a soldier or a bear, 
and plays the part of the real thing. 

(c) Idealistic imitation, when the child acts like some hero, or marches 
like the soldier, making an ideal which he copies. 

Here the personality of the teacher may count imm.easurably in 
molding the child life. The teacher may be the ideal. "Like teacher, 
like class." The carriage, disposition, expression, of the teacher will 
be reflected in the little mirrors before him. Irritation, selfishness, 
carelessness, irreverence, worldliness, wUl all leave a deep impress on the 
life. Environment is a strong factor in the making of character. It 
is, therefore, of utmost importance that the teachers in the Sunday 



90 



Preparation for Teaching 



school shall be above reproach in character, and that they cultivate 
the winsome graces of God's spirit. Remember the message of the 
man to the inconsistent Christian: "What you are speaks so loud that 
I cannot hear what you say." 

TEST QUESTIONS 

Name two kinds of development that are noticed in the period of 
infancy. 

Name a striking characteristic of the physical development. 

What is accomplished for the child through restlessness? 

Name three characteristics of the mental development of infants. 

How may the teacher use the hungry senses of the child in imparting 
instruction? 

Of what future value is the curiosity of the child? 

Of what value is imitation in the life of the child? 

Name the three kinds of imitation. 

Give an example of muscular imitation. 

What is realistic imitation? 

WTiat is idealistic imitation? 

How does this make the personahty of the teacher so important? 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



Infancy 


I. Physical De- / (1) Rapid Growth 
velopment \ (2) Restlessness 

II. Mental Devel- / (1) Curiosity { (a) Muscular 
opment \ (2) Imitation \ (h) Realistic 

[ (c) Idealistic 



LESSON IV 
Infancy. The Cradle Roll and the Beginners 

(From Birth to Six Years) 

Two characteristics of the mental development of infants — curiosity 
and imitation — have been noted. Another characteristic is: 

3. Imagination. Infancy is the age of fancy. To the little child 



The Pupil 91 

the wrapped stick becomes the beautiful baby doll, and the cane a 
prancing horse. The imagination soars high. Fairy tales and ghost 
stories are desired; seeing fairies and ghosts seems quite natural. This 
accounts for many of the so-caUed hes of httle children. Frequently 
their imagination is so vivid that they cannot see clearly the difference 
between truth and fiction. The stories of things seen and done seem 
to them to be real things, and they speak of them as real. This sort 
of falsehood develops naturally into truthfulness, when the judgment 
becomes more accurate. The little child should not be punished for 
these falsehoods. If care is taken, they wiU gradually be forgotten 
and more accurate statements wiU be made. 

III. MORAL AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT 

What is the nature of the child that Christ should say, "Except 
ye . . . become as httle children, ye shall not enter into the 
kingdom of heaven"? 

1. Faith. The child Hves a Kfe of trust. The word of parent or teacher 
is not doubted. He worries not over difficulties or dangers; is not some 
one there to take care of him? He is not ashamed to show his depend- 
ence, and is pleased to walk dowTi the street holding father's hand. 

2. Sincerity. The child is frank and unaffected, and is not influenced 
by poUcy or pohteness. What he says he means. 

3. Self-interest. His needs must be met. When he cries, every- 
thing else must be dropped till he has been cared for. He has no regard 
for the rights of others. If the butterfly he wishes to catch flies into 
the neighbor's garden, he goes after it; the fact that he is ruining the 
neighbor's flowers never occurs to him. He will know better later on. 

This period, and that which follows, are the habit-forming periods. 
Then, since habits make character, this is the time to impress the great 
fundamental moral principles, seK-control, obedience, truth. A writer 
has said, ''The drunkard is made before the child goes to school," — if 
he has failed to learn self-control. Now is the time to form the habits 
of prayer, of obedience, of church attendance, of giving. 

There are several rules to be observed by the teacher who would help 
the child to form good habits: 

(a) Make the first impression strong and attractive. 

(6) Repeat, repeat, repeat. 

(c) Remember that good habits are as easy to make and as hard to 



92 Preparation for Teaching 

break as bad ones. Habits formed at this age will become the almost 
unbreakable cable at twenty-one. 

HINTS FOR THE TEACHER OF BEGINNERS 

1. Boys and girls may be in the same class. At this age there is no 
sex distinction. 

2. The Old Testament is preferred to the New. There is more scope 
for the imagination and more heroes for imitation. 

3. The lessons should be short, and the programme varied. Direct 
the activities of the restless children by marches and motion songs. 

4. Arouse interest through curiosity. The air of mystery, even in 
the unwrapping of a thing you wish to show, will attract them. Teach 
by stories. 

5. Have concrete things, — such as blackboard illustrations and mod- 
els, — to appeal to the senses, but be sure the children catch the meaning, 
and see more than mere color and shape. 

6. Remember that this age is the seedtime for the greatest harvest. 
Sow the seed with prayer and patience. 

TEST QUESTIONS 

Name three characteristics of mental development in infancy. 

Give an illustration of the imagination of young children. 

How does this account for some of the so-called lies of children? 

Name three characteristics of moral and spiritual development. 

How does the child show his faith? 

How is the sincerity of the child revealed? 

How is the self-interest of the child seen? 

Name three rules that should be observed in the formation of habits. 

Why do young children prefer the Old Testament to the New? 

How may we arouse interest in the lesson? 





BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 






{ (1) Curiosity 




II. Mental Development ■ 


(2) Imitation 

(3) Imagination 


Infancy j 




^ (1) Faith 




III. Moral and Spiritual 


(2) Sincerity 




Development 


(3) Self-interest 

(4) Habits 



The Pupil 93 

LESSON V 
Childhood. Primary and Junior 

(From Six to Twelve Years) 

"If you want a garden of good fruit, get the trees young." 

I. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. In this period physical growth is slower. Children continue to 
grow, but not as rapidly as before six and after twelve. The brain 
reaches its full size about the eighth year. Nervous affections develop 
now, but generally the child is healthier than he ever will be again. 

2. The child is stiU very active. He rushes out to play as soon as 
school is out, and is loath to come into the house even to eat; but when 
he is compelled to be quiet, he is not as restless as his smaller brother. 
He is now acquiring skiU in his earliest habits. He learns to write at 
school, thus taking a great stride toward control of his smaller muscles. 

II. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. At six, when the child leaves home for school, his social sphere is 
broadened. His world circle now includes teachers and classmates. 
He is no longer the selfish httle tyrant. Germs of his social relation to 
the world appear, 

2. Independence appears. The girl wants to dress herseK. The 
boy scorns to take his father's hand. The child is now in the hunter 
stage of development. He plays tag and pursues his friends, and plays 
"hide and seek," just as his savage ancestors, the cave men, pursued 
their enemies. 

3. In this period the sexes are repellant; the boy hates any asso- 
ciation with girls in play or classes. He teases the girls on the street, 
and the girls retaliate by calling names. 

4. The children in this period play in groups. Each child strives 
to win for himself. Rivalry has developed. Teddy races with Tom to 
beat him; he plays marbles to win. The "gang spirit" has not yet 
appeared. 

5. Inseparable chums are found, but these are selected more because 



94 Preparation for Teaching 

of nearness than because of suitableness. Race, education, refinement, 
are not considered when the chum hves near by, sits near in school, or 
plays in the same vicinity. Those who are inseparable chums in this 
period may be but acquaintances later in life. 

III. MENTAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. Memory in this period is voracious, but haphazard. Everything 
good as well as evil is stored in the mind for future use. The child is 
now "wax to receive and marble to retain." ^Yhat is memorized now 
stays. However, because reason is not sufficiently developed to help 
memory, it may prove treacherous. The important point may be for- 
gotten, though the illustration remains. 

2. In this memory period we have a golden opportunity to fill the 
mind and heart with God's word. Select the words of Jesus, some of 
the psalms and other simple vital teachings that can be comprehended 
to some degree. ''Truth for the intellect, beauty for the emotions, 
and that which is vital for the will." The children must carry with 
them the "lamp unto their feet," if this is to be then daily guide. 

3. The child imitates his companions. Teddy wants skates and 
a wagon Hke Tommy's. Molly wants her hair combed and her dress 
made like Dolly's. Language, actions and habits are imitated. 

4. The new pleasure of reading is added to the child's experience. 
Toward the end of this period he devours books. This is the time when 
the taste for good literature should be developed. He should be led 
away from the cheap and flashy stories with their false views of life, 
to the more fascinating and helpful stories of missionaries like Dr. 
Grenfell, of Labrador, or heroes of American and English history-. 
Substitute truth for fiction, but combine with it the rapid movement and 
adventure which the boy craves. Prove to the child that false views 
of life are given through many books. Lead him to turn from these to 
the better. 

5. With these great characters before him, the ideals of the child 
turn from home to the worship of heroes. He no longer desires to be 
a doctor like his father, or a conductor, or an iceman; he wants to com- 
mand a ship, like Paul Jones, or be an Indian chief. And this trait 
gives the teacher a rare opportunity to teach powerful lessons through 
great Bible characters. 



The Pupil 95 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Give at least three facts regarding physical development in this 
period. 

How is activity shown in this period? 

How is the social sphere of the child now broadened? 

How is his individual independence shown? 

What is the relation of the sexes in this period? 

What is peculiar about memory at this stage? 

How should memory now be used in Bible work? 

What use should be made of the child's love of reading? 

What effect has the reading of heroic deeds upon the child? 

What uses should the teacher make of that fact? 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



Childhood 



Physical 
ment 



III. 



Develop- / 

\ 



II. Social Development 



Mental 
ment 



Develop- 



(1) Slower Growth 

(2) Activity 

(1) Social Interests 

(2) Independence 

(3) Sexes Repellant 

(4) Play in Groups 

(5) Inseparable Chums 

(1) Memory Voracious 

(2) Opportunity to Mem- 

orize Bible 

(3) Imitates Companions 

(4) Pleasure of Reading 

(5) Hero Worship 



LESSON VI 
Childhood. Primary and Junior 

(From Six to Twelve Years) 



IV. MORAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. The child conscience awakens The moral sense is not as strong 
as it will be later, but at this age the child has an increasing sense of the 
difference between right and wrong, and should be encouraged to form 
habits of noble living. 



96 Preparation for Teaching 

2. He lives in the present. If motives to right Uving are to appeal 
to him, they must have reference to to-day. The fact that a certain 
action will affect his after-life will not make much impression. Let 
him see that by doing this he will lose something or gain something 
right now, and he is much more apt to decide quickly. 

3. He wants to have things all his own. This is seen in his deshe 
for pets, stamps, birds, eggs, etc. The affection for and care of his 
pets give a proper outlet for his emotions, and help to develop in him 
the spirit of unselfishness. He is not yet able to appreciate the fact 
that true greatness is found in serving others. 

V. SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. Decisions for Christ are made, but rarely with deep emotion. 
The child in the Christian home, loving God from his earliest recollec- 
tion, should grow naturally into Christian experiences. 

2. Habits of Christian living are formed. The child should be 
encouraged to pray, to read the Bible, to think of God as near and dear 
and to love Jesus. 

3. Christ is the boys' hero. No longer is the story of the infant 
Christ most attractive. The boy admires the hero who drove out the 
money changers and faced his accusers without a word. 

4. The heroic aspects of the Christian life appeal to him. The 
noble Bible biographies should be set before him, and he should be 
taught that the Christian Hfe caUs for action and everyday deeds of 
heroism. 

5. Lessons of obedience are more needed by the child than lessons 
of doctrine. He can feel before he can understand. He can love before 
he knows why. 

HINTS FOR TEACHERS OF PRIMARY AND JUNIOR PUPILS 

1. Group the children in small classes according to age. 

2. Have girls and boys together in the Primary, but separate in the 
Junior Department. 

3. Have longer lessons in the Junior than in the Primary Department. 

4. Teach the primary pupils Bible stories that teU of God's love and 
care and of our duty to love others. Teach the juniors especially of 



The Pupil 



97 



Bible heroes, the biographies of missionary heroes and Bible history 
and geography. 

5. Have the children collect specimens, cards and curios for your 
use in teaching. 

6. Watch the library of the Sunday school. See that books are there 
that will be suitable to the age and desires of childhood. 

7. Keep always before the children the attractiveness of the Christian 
life. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
What motives appeal most to children in this period? 
How is the self-interest of the child shown? 
What is noticeable in decisions for Christ at this time? 
What is it in Christ's character that appeals to the boy? 
What aspect of the Christian life wiR impress him most? 
Why are lessons of obedience now more effective than doctrines? 
Name at least six helps for primary and junior workers. 
State the kind of teaching best adapted to primary pupils? 
What subjects should be taught to juniors? 
What aspect of the Christian life should be kept before the pupils? 





BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 






(1) Conscience Awakens 




IV. Moral Development 


(2) Lives in Present 
, (3) Wants His Own 
" (1) Decisions for Christ 


Childhood 




(2) Christian Habits 




V. Spiritual Develop- 


(3) Christ the Hero 




ment 


(4) Heroic Aspects of 






Christianity 
. (5) Obedience Needed 



98 Preparation for Teaching 

LESSON VII 
Early Adolescence. The Intermediates 

(From Twelve to Sixteen Years) 

The boy had closed childhood's door behind him and has now opened 
the door of manhood, but has not yet entered. This vestibule to 
maturity is the period of early adolescence. (The word Ad-o-les-cence, 
derived from adolesco, to grow, means "Growing toward manhood.") 
The period is marked by: 

I. GREAT PHYSICAL GROWTH 

1. Size. The boy grows tall and lanky, and dons his first long 
trousers. Weight comes later. This growth begins earlier with girls, 
but lasts longer with boys. Girls of thirteen are generally taller than 
boys of the same age. Girls mature earher. 

2. Energy. The heart of the adolescent is much enlarged and beats 
more rapidly. This gives the boy the energy which makes him loud 
and noisy. He slams doors, whistles and roars "at the top of his 
lungs," until his tired, nervous mother impatiently reproves, and 
wonders why Teddy can't be a gentleman and be quiet. Endurance 
has not developed, however, and these young hurricanes soon spend 
their strength. 

3. New powers. It is at this time that the boy becomes the youth 
and the girl becomes the young woman. New powers develop, and the 
general unsettled physical condition makes it a period of great danger. 
In the boy the change is marked by the deepening of the voice. 

II. NEW SOCIAL RELATIONS 

From being the unconsciously selfish warrior, the child develops into 
the race period when men begin to live in communities. He recognizes 
the privileges and pleasures of this life, and desires a community hfe 
of his own, in which he may take active part. This is recognized in 
various ways. 

1. Sex attraction. Although at the "awkward age," when hands 
and feet seem prominent, the boys and girls wish to mingle socially. 



The Pupil 99 

The sexes are attracted. The girls begin to make themselves more 
attractive, and boys compete to show off before the girls. Teddy, who 
once scorned smooth hair, now carefully "plasters" it before the mirror. 
The opposite sex is the chief interest in conversation. 

2. Plays. The plays preferred are games of skill and chance. The 
"gang spirit" is in every game. Teams are organized for baseball, 
basket ball and football. The members are interested in the uniforms, 
colors, yells and regulations of the teams. The individual yields 
personal desires to the success of the team. 

3. Emotions. The pendulum of the emotions swings from one 
extreme to the other. They are uncertain and uncontrolled. To-day 
the girl is gay, hopeful, happy, and loves the teacher; to-morrow she 
is moody, resentful, unhappy, and hates her. The boy's love for com- 
bat is seen not only in his desire to fight, but in his desire to argue. 
That these emotions are easily aroused and not easily controlled is 
seen in the blushing, giggling and hysterics of the girls, and the loud 
laughing and tramping of the boys in public conveyances and at en- 
tertainments. 

III. MENTAL DEVELOPMENT 

Mental development, though slower than at any other period, con- 
tinues without interruption. 

1. Imitation. The adolescent now imitates the noble deeds of 
heroes. He loves Washington and Lincoln for what they did. He 
loves "Deadwood Dick" for the same reason. 

2. Imagination. His imagination creates ideals, and in daydreams 
he lives in another more satisfying life. lithis tendency is not guarded, 
it will weaken the will so that the real life will not be properly lived. 
He is inclined to scorn small duties and wait for great opportunities. 
The boy satisfies his imagination in the dime novel, and the girl in the 
romance. Sometimes, because mind and heart are starved at home, 
the boy, like the bird, migrates to find the food he craves. This may 
account for the truant and the runaway. 

Two new characteristics appear at this time: 

3. Reason. The highest faculty dawns, and Teddy is constantly 
asking "Why?" or "How?" thus aiding memory, which is not so promi- 
nent. The boy requires a reason before he will believe. 



lOO 



Preparation for Teaching 



4. Love of the beautiful. We find at this time the first real ap- 
preciation of the beautiful. The girl wants to choose her dress and hat, 
and the boy his tie. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TEACHER 

1. Do not expect children in this period to be enthusiastic about 
taking part in Sunday-school entertainments. 

2. Organize your Class and have a meeting during the week. 

3. Give pupils something to do through the week. Remember that 
emotions of pity, love, penitence aroused and not expressed in action 
weaken the character. 

4. Sympathy and mental food, rather than condemnation, will bring 
the truant home again, 

5. Use up the surplus energy with rousing songs. Nothing will settle 
a noisy, restless crowd of boys more quickly than enthusiastically to 
sing "Onward Christian Soldiers," or "The Son of God Goes Forth to 
War," or "FUng Out the Banner." 

TEST QUESTIONS 
What does the period of adolescence mean? TeU its age limit. 
Compare physical growth now with that of the chUd of six or seven. 
What is the cause of increased energy? 
How does this energy show itself? 
What is now the attitude toward the opposite sex? 
Describe the characteristic features of the games of this period. 
In what ways are imitation and imagination exercised? 
Name two new characteristics of this period. 
Give four suggestions for teachers. 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE: 







(1) Size 




I. Great Physical Growth • 


(2) Energy 

(3) New Powers 


Early 
Ado- ' 
lescence 




f (1) Sex Attraction 


11. Social Relations -1 


(2) Plays 




(3) Emotions 
' (1) Imitation 




ni. Mental Development 


(2) Imagination 

(3) Reason 

(4) Love of the Beautiful 



The Pupil 10 1 

LESSON VIII 
Early Adolescence. The Intermediates 

(From Twelve to Sixteen Years) 

The physical, mental and social development in this period we saw 
in the last lesson. To these we now add moral and spiritual develop- 
ment. 

IV. MORAL DEVELOPMENT 

The egotism, emotions and energy of this period are reflected in the 
moral life. 

1. Self-reliance. The development of new powers gives the boy 
great confidence in himself and in his ability. This is seen in the "know- 
it-all" attitude, which scorns and is bored by father's advice. The boy 
argues for the sake of argument, and will not be convinced. He is 
fond of debates. It is unwise at this time to thrust the child into 
public attention, as this tends to increase his feeling of seK-importance. 
The boy's ideas now demand a larger world, and plans and daydreams 
follow; sometimes he steals money to enable him to carry out his plans. 

2. Intense emotions. The emotional hfe is so strong that, if un- 
controlled, it may wreck the boy's future. Some emotions should 
be checked, some modified and some encouraged. Intense hate should 
be directed against sin, intense love encouraged toward God and fellow- 
man. The sense of justice is now strong, and requires that care be 
taken concerning punishments. The sensitive emotional nature is 
easily hurt by either unmerited blame or neglect of praise. Emotions 
when aroused must spend themselves in action or character is weakened. 
If sympathy for heathen children is aroused, opportunity should be 
given immediately to do something for them. 

3. Secretiveness. The frankness of childhood is gone. The boy is 
now more diplomatic and secretive. He will not tell the teacher exactly 
what he thinks, and questions from the desk are not responded to en- 
thusiastically as they are by children. Dick now wishes a lock on his 
treasure box, and DoUy desires a room of her own. 

4. Energy. The energy now displayed in play and work should 
develop the virtues of skill, endurance and perseverance, and discourage 
the evils of caprice, restlessness and lack of control. 



I02 Preparation for Teaching 

V. SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. Decisions for Christ are natural at this age. The majority of 
Christians have made the great decision in this period. Few who pass 
it without decision ever enter the service of Christ. Every encourage- 
ment should be given to yield the heart to Christ. It should be remem- 
bered that, while some boys and girls have a marked experience of con- 
version, many come to be Christians as naturally as night turns into 
day. No one should feel that he must duplicate the experience of 
another. 

2. The boy requires an active and practical religion. He has no 
experience to teU, but there are some things he can do. The energy 
and enthusiasm of this age can be used to help others, and in witness- 
ing for Christ. 

3. Christ is the boy's ideal of manliness, courage and hohness. 
Christ is loved for what he did. His teachings are not yet appreciated. 
The boy demands absolute sincerity in the teacher and a correspond- 
ence of deed and creed. 

4. This is the period of doubt. It is the thought period. The 
doubts of boys and girls are not to be set aside, but should be sympathe- 
tically dealt with. We must remember that faith begins when reason 
is satisfied. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TEACHER 

1. Avoid making the boy conspicuous by either pubhc praise or 
blame. 

2. Give more sympathy than condemnation. 

3. Let the boys and girls do such things as wUl help them feel that 
they are part of the school. 

4. Give them definite things to do. 

5. The relation of the teacher to the pupil counts more than the 
method or the lesson. Faith in the teacher is the best lesson. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Name four characteristics of moral development in this period. 
How is seK-reliance shown at this time? 

How should the teacher deal with the intense emotions of boys and 
girls? 

How is secretiveness shown? 



The Pupil 



103 



What use may be made of energy? 

State four facts regarding spiritual development in this period. 

Why should decisions for Christ be urged at this period? 

What phase of the character of Christ appeals to the boy now? 

How should the teacher deal with the doubts of the boys and girls? 

Give five suggestions for teaching the early adolescent. 





BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 


Early 
Adoles- 
cence 


IV. Moral Development 
. V. Spiritual Development 


(1) Self-reliance 
. (2) Intense Emotions 

(3) Secretiveness 

(4) Energy 

(1) Decisions for Christ 

(2) Active and Practical 

Religion 

(3) Christ the Ideal of Man- 

liness 

(4) Doubt 



LESSON IX 
Later Adolescence. Seniors and Adults 

(From Sixteen to Twenty-four Years) 

"A man, the noblest work of God." 

''But the center of all must be the Man of the Gospels." 

I. PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 

The young man has now reached full height; from this time physical 
growth is mainly in weight and strength. He desires to train for 
athletic sports. He is interested in political affairs, and wants to unite 
with various organizations. He is proud to wear the insignia of college 
or fraternity or the organized adult Bible class button. 

II. INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. This is decidedly the intellectual age. The young man tires of 
the monotony of the usual programme, and is eager to try new things. 
He sometimes carries fads and fashions to an extreme, and may cease 
to attend Sunday school on the ground that it is so humdrum. 



104 Preparation for Teaching 

2. Attention is voluntary. The young man attends to an unat- 
tractive subject because of the future good it will do him. His motives 
may be external or internal, that is, the attention given may be because 
his business may be profited in some manner, or his character may be 
developed. 

3. Memory becomes systematic. Understanding and association 
must come to aid it. No longer does the mind eagerly devour every- 
thing. Bible verses are much more difficult to memorize. 

4. Imagination is constructive. The young man invents machin- 
ery, stories and pictures, and he delights in puzzles of difficult construc- 
tion, or hard problems in games or work. Judgments are often hastily 
and inaccurately made, through lack of reflection and defective 
observation. 

5. Reason is prominent. Although the first glimpses of reasoning 
are seen far back in the life of the infant when he cries because left 
alone, yet this faculty is the last to appear prominently. 

III. MORAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. The feehngs should be carefully cultivated, as feeling is the root 
of doing. Pity prompts the act of charity. 

2. Remember the lesson taught to the teachers of beginners. Good 
habits are as easy to form and as hard to break as bad ones. Therefore 
special attention should be given to them. Much crime is the fruit of 
bad habits sown in adolescence. 

IV. SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. Faith is confirmed. By patient, loving treatment and faith- 
ful study of God's word doubt disappears and faith is firmly founded 
on a reasonable basis. 

2. Christ's friendship is appreciated. Christ is now the com- 
panion, who becomes more precious with experience. The self-denial 
and sufferings of Christ appeal strongly to the heart and increase the 
attachment of the soul to him. 

3. Christ's service is enjoyed. The greatness of Christian service 
is recognized, and the work of extending the Master's kingdom is en- 
tered upon with high purpose and with great joy. 



The Pupil 



[05 



SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TEACHER 

1. Organized adult Bible classes should be formed. 

2. The sexes may be together, though separate classes are better. 

3. Use the constructive imagination by having senior pupils make 
outlines and maps. 

4. Questions given out to be solved or debated will interest the pupils. 

5. Answer the "Why" with all the intelligence, care and sympathy 
possible. 

6. Relate the religious instruction to present conditions in the home, 
the state and the individual life. Make the young man see his respon- 
sibility in facing the great questions in social and civil life. 



TEST QUESTIONS 
Describe physical life at this period. 
Name some marks of social development. 

Name four characteristics of intellectual development in this period. 
How does attention at this time differ from the attention of the child? 
How does the imagination express itself? 
What does reason enable one to do? 

WTiy should special attention be given now to the formation of habits? 
Name three facts regarding spiritual development in this period. 
Give at least five suggestions for teachers. 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



Later 
Adoles- -i 
cence 



I. Physical and So- 
cial Development 

II. Intellectual De- 
velopment 



III. 



Moral and Spirit- 
ual Development 



(1) Full Height 

(2) Athletics, Politics, Soci- 

eties 

(1) Intellectual Age 

(2) Attention Now Voluntary 

(3) Memory Systematic 

(4) Imagination Constructive 

(5) Reason Prominent 

(1) Faith Confirmed 

(2) Christ's Friendship 

(3) Service Enjoyed 



1 06 Preparation for Teaching 

LESSON X 
The Child Prepared for the Teachmg 

In preparing to teach the child and in preparing the child for the 
teaching the teacher must have regard for five fundamental principles. 

I. ATTENTION 

Perhaps while teaching a boy takes a httle bird out of his pocket; 
the lesson is no longer attended to, and one might as well talk to a row 
of tenpins. Nothing is heard, although the teacher speaks even more 
distinctly than before. The boy is not giving attention. Some rival 
of the teacher has won the day and has secured his attention. 

Knowing how useless it is to teach without attention, the teacher 
must do one of three things: 

1. Give up the lesson and acknowledge defeat. 

2. Use the more interesting thing to recapture the attention. 

3. Make the lesson so interesting that the pupils will voluntarily 
turn from their choice to yours. This requires skill and practice. 

Attention may be voluntary or involuntary, given or compelled. 
One may give attention because he wants to or because he ought to or 
has to. The attention of children is involuntary; they attend only to 
what specially interests them. Their attention cannot be compelled 
for a long period. For this reason lessons should be short and varied. 
Inattention is a warning that ability to concentrate has been lost. 

Attention is the first essential to any teaching. 

II. INTEREST 

Since the child cannot be forced to give attention, he must do so 
willingly. He will listen for an hour to a wonderful fairy tale, but not 
for ten minutes to arithmetic. Why? 

The play element. ■ He never tires of play. The more the teaching 
combines the principles of story and play, the more interest the child 
wUl give. Whenever the teacher wishes to give a difficult intellectual 
pill, let it be sugar-coated with that in which the child is most interested. 
The tactful teacher will present Christ as the babe to the child, Christ 



The Pupil 107 

as the hero to the boy of twelve, Christ as the friend and teacher to the 
lad of eighteen, Christ the Saviour of men to the adult. 

Interest creates attention. Keep the child's interest if you want 
his attention. 

III. THE POINT OF CONTACT 

1. New knowledge must be related to the old. An old myth relates 
that the earth rested on the back of a strong man, who, in turn, stood 
upon the back of an elephant, which rested each foot on a huge tortoise. 
But when the question arises, "Upon what did the tortoise stand?" 
and there is no answer, the story becomes unsatisfactory and useless, 
because of the lack of a sohd foundation. When ideas come into the 
mind, a foundation experience must be there to which the new ideas 
can connect themselves, or they will sink out of consciousness. To 
teach a new idea without relating it to the old is like pouring water 
through a sieve. Just a very httle portion may remain on the wires, 
but not enough to use. To teach the idea "transparent," without 
explaining the idea of "like glass," would mean nothing to the child. 

2. Teaching must be related to the child's experiences. That is, 
new knowledge must be built on the old. A child cannot imderstand 
what his own experience does not interpret. He can understand the 
love of Jesus only so far as he can see the love of father and mother in 
their care of him. What does "lily of the valley" mean to the child 
that does not even know grass? Jesus built new knowledge on the old. 
WTien he called the fishermen to become disciples, he told them that 
they should be fishers of men. This reference to their own experiences 
helped them to understand their new caUing. To the farmers Christ 
talked of sowing seed. 

IV. LANGUAGE 

Simple language must be used, for every unusual word breaks the 
chain of thought. The child sang "God's love is fishin' for me," 
because the word, as he understood it, attached itself to some experi- 
ences of his down at the mill pond. The word " sufficient" had failed to 
perform its mission because it was not recognized. Jesus, in explaining 
the word "neighbor," gave a story first to explain the idea, then the 
word "neighbor" was properly understood. The meaning of such words 
as love, home, mother, grows with our experience. 



io8 Preparation for Teaching 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Explain the importance of attention. 
How shall we secure attention? 

What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary attention? 
How may the child's interest be awakened? 
What do we mean by the point of contact? 
Show how Jesus used this principle in teaching. 
What kind of language should be used? why? 
How did Jesus make the meaning of words clear? 





BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 




I. Attention 


The Child 
Prepared 

for the 
Teaching 


II. Interest 


III. Point of f (1) New Knowledge Related to Old 
Contact \ (2) Teaching Related to Experience 




IV. Language 



PART V 
The Teacher 



LESSON I 
The Teacher's Teacher 

The teacher may know his Bible thoroughly and interpret his pupil 
intelligently, but this is not enough; to teach effectively he must fol- 
low the method of the master Teacher. To teach as Jesus taught is 
to succeed. 

1. Jesus knew his theme. He knew the truth as no other man ever 
knew it. He had a thorough mastery of the Scriptures. He spoke as 
one who had a message, and therefore had a right to speak. There was 
never any doubt about what he wished to say. ''I and my Father are 
one" (John 10 : 30), ''He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 
14 : 9), **No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14 : 6.) 

2. Jesus knew his pupils. He adapted his teachings to their ex- 
periences. To farmers he spoke of sowing seed or planting vineyards 
(Matthew, ch. 13); to shepherds, he spoke of lost sheep (Luke 15 :3-7); 
to the housewife he spoke of a broom and a candle (Luke 15 : 8-10) . By 
means of these pertinent illustrations he taught important truths. 

3. Jesus appreciated the good in his pupils. When he saw 
Nathanael approaching one day, the Master said, ''Behold an Israelite 
indeed, in whom is no guile." (John 1 : 47.) Certainly Nathanael had 
some faults, but Jesus, finding the good, approached him through 
sympathy and appreciation; and Nathanael became a disciple. 

4. Jesus' teaching was simple, but full of meaning. Much of it 
was in story form. Commonplace occurrences of everyday life were 
used to interpret Scriptural truth. A woman patching an old coat, 
(Matt. 9 : 16); children playing in the market place (Matt. 11 : 16); 
a man finding a treasure in the field (Matt. 13 : 44) — these and other 
like illustrations made his teaching attractive and readily understood. 

5. Jesus varied his method with the time and the hearers. At the 
well side he spoke to the woman of Samaria socially and taught her in- 
cidentally, proclaiming a great truth. (John, ch. 4.) To the worshipers 
in the synagogue on the Sabbath, he expounded the Scriptures in lecture 

111 



1 12 Preparation for Teaching 

form. He taught the disciples as they walked or dined together, test- 
ing them with questions to clarify their ideas. 

6. Jesus taught by his personality. More important than his 
method was the influence of his life. Why should twelve uneducated 
men of different dispositions care to follow him daily? Not for earthly 
gain, for Jesus told them he had not where to lay his head. He had 
won their love by his goodness, his sympathy and appreciation. Did 
he not note the widow's mite? Did he not appreciate Mary's loving 
gift of spikenard? Did he not love most where love was needed most? 
Was he not at all times the sympathetic friend, and unselfish in his 
service for all? It was this winsome personahty of the master Teacher 
that we need most to imitate. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
How may the teacher add to the effectiveness of his teaching? 
How was Jesus' knowledge of his theme shown? 
How did Jesus adapt his teaching to the needs of the pupils? 
Tell how Jesus showed his appreciation of the good in his pupils. 
How did Jesus make his teaching clear? 
Tell three instances which show how Jesus varied his method. 
What effect had his personahty on his teaching? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



The 
Teacher's JESUS \ 
Teacher 



1. Knew His Theme 

2. Knew His Pupils 

3. Appreciated the Good in His Pupils 

4. Taught in Simple Form 

5. Varied His Method 

6. Taught by His Personahty 



LESSON II 
The Teacher and His Text-Book 

In order to be in closest harmony with the master Teacher the Sun- 
day-school teacher's mind and heart must be richly stored with God's 
\\'ord. 



The Teacher 1 1 3 

I. He must study the Bible for the strengthening of his spiritual 
life. Sunday-school teaching is spiritual work. He who would succeed 
in it must have spiritual life. This can be found only in communion 
with God through his word. The faithful teacher will often take the 
attitude of Samuel, ''Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." 

It is more important that we hear God speak to us than that we speak 
to him. The disciples as they journeyed to Emmaus on that eventful 
day said little to the Lord, who walked by their side — just enough to 
reveal the depth of their need. Then they listened while he expounded 
unto them the Scriptures, and when he had left them, they said one to 
another, "Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us 
by the way, and while he opened unto us the scriptures?" It is in 
this waiting before God with the open word that the teacher will have 
his most needed preparation. 

II. He must study the Bible to meet the needs of his pupils. 
As he meditates on the word his thought wiU go out to the members of 
the class, and often will he ask, "What important teaching is there here 
for my pupils?" "Will this truth meet the peculiar needs of Mary?" 
And many times the prayer will be offered, "O Lord, open my eyes, 
to see the message that I am to carry to those whom thou hast called 
me to teach." 

In order to have a working knowledge of the Bible the teacher must 
study the word systematically. 

Four methods of Bible study will be found helpful. 

1. He should read the Bible consecutively, beginning at Genesis 
and reading through to Revelation. This will save him from passing 
by any portion of the inspired word, and will give him a knowledge of 
the book as a whole. That remarkable man of faith, George Miiller, 
said that he had read the Bible through one hundred times, and always 
with increasing delight. The reading should be thoughtful, and the 
lessons should be applied to the life. 

2. He should study the Bible topically. By use of a reference 
Bible and concordance or text-book he should bring together the texts 
bearing upon one subject, and compare Scripture with Scripture. If 
weak in faith, let him study the faith passages. If full of fears, let him 
study the "Fear nots." A Bible teaching understood through such 
personal study will mean ten times more to him than the same teaching 
explained to him by another. 

8 



114 



Preparation for Teaching 



3. He should study the Bible by biographies. Abraham, Jo- 
seph, Moses, David, Christ, Paul and scores of other Bible characters 
offer material of fascinating interest. The appreciative study of these 
Hves will ennoble the thought and inspire to self-sacrificing toil. 

4. He should study the Bible by books. No other method will 
bring so large returns of knowledge and spiritual help. Each of the 
sixty-six books has its own message for our hves. 

In order to quicken spiritual hfe and equip one's self for service, the 
Bible must be read: 

(a) Dihgently. (John 5 : 39.) 
(6) PrayerfuUy. (Ps. 119 : 18.) 

(c) ThoughtfuUy. (Ps. 119 : 97-100.) 

(d) Believingly. (Ps. 119 : 18.) 

(e) Obediently. (John 7 : 17.) 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Give two reasons why the teacher should study the Bible. 
How is the teacher's life helped by Bible study? 
How vrill Bible study help his pupils? 
Name four helpful methods of Bible study. 
What is meant by consecutive Bible study? 
What is the value of topical Bible study? 
How may we be helped by biographical study? 
AAHiat is the value of the study of the Bible by books? 
Give five brief rules for Bible study. 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



The 
Teacher 
and His 
Text- 
Book 



I. Study for 
Spiritual 
Help 
II. Study for 
Pupils' 
Needs 



Consecutively 
Topically 
Biographic- 
ally 
By Books 



(a) Dihgently 

(b) Prayerfully 

(c) Thought- 

fully 

(d) Believingly 

(e) Obediently 



The Teacher 115 

LESSON III 
The Teacher and the Pupil 

Two violins Avhich separately give forth beautiful music, when played 
together may produce discord, because they are not in tune one w^th 
the other. So the teacher and child will produce no melody of life and 
progress unless they are in harmony. 

In order to have harmony four things are necessary: 

1. Sincerity. Children are instinctively keen in their judgment of 
character. They will make friends with some strangers and shun others. 
One of the best recommendations of the teacher is the fact that the 
children love her. Shams are easily detected and severely condemned. 
WTiat the teacher really is and what she does through the week may 
make or destroy the teaching of the thirty minutes on Sunday. The 
depth from w^hich the lesson comes has its effect in measuring the depth 
to which the lesson sinks. 

2. Sympathy must be twin to sincerity. The teacher who w^ould 
succeed must enter into the life of the child. Interest in the family of 
a boy often counts more than what is done for him personally. A favor 
shown to a boy's mother, a bit of help or loving sympathy, or the eating 
of a meal in the house, may serve as a powerful link to bind the boy's 
heart to the teacher's. The teacher may find out in this way that the 
so-called "bad boy" is a Saul of Tarsus, awaiting the proper direction 
of his energy and leadership. "We need to learn a lesson from Jesus' 
entering into the life of the Bethany home. 

3. Standards of right. ^Yha,t children see they imitate. One 
need only watch children ''playing school," to observe how uncon- 
sciously they have absorbed the manner and speech of the public-school 
teacher. Like teacher, like class. In the moral sphere, the Sunday- 
school teacher represents to the child the concrete illustration of what 
is right and good, of justice, honor and other virtues. "Teacher says 
it," or "Teacher does it," is to the child sufficient reason for any action. 
If the teacher wishes his class to swing toward any standard of right, 
he must lead the way. 



1 1 6 Preparation for Teaching 

4. Careful class management. The teacher who would cure class 
disorder and learn the secret of happy class work, should remember 
four things: 

(a) The teacher should be prepared. The poorly prepared teacher 
will quickly lose his grip; the pupils wiU know it and will lose respect 
for him. 

(6) The pupil should be trusted. He should learn that the teacher 
believes in him. If right things are expected of him, he wiU be en- 
couraged to do right. 

(c) Quiet firmness wiU make more friends than indulgence that may 
be quickly followed by undue severity. Quietness reflects quietness. 
Quietness compels quietness. 

(d) Positive training counts for more than negative. One "do" 
is worth a dozen "don'ts." It is always wiser to suggest a better 
thing to do rather than simply to call attention to a wrong action. 
Effort should be appreciated and commended, and sometimes rewarded, 
but the desire for reward should not be permitted to become the prime 
motive of action. 

Above all, let the teacher keep in muid the wise words: 

"Do not look for wrong and evil, 
You wiU find them if you do. 
Look for goodness, look for gladness, 
You will find them aU the while. 
If you bring a smihng visage 
To the glass, you'll get a smile." 

TEST QUESTIONS 

Why is harmony between the teacher and the child a necessity? 

Name two quahties of the Sunday-school teacher that wiU influence 
the fives of the pupils. 

What is the value of the teacher's sincerity? 

How may the teacher's work be helped by her sympathy? 

AATiy is it important that the teacher should have high standards 
of right? 

T\'Tiat are the remedies for class disorder? 

"V^Tiy should we give positive training rather than negative? 



The Teacher 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



117 



f 1- 


Sincerity 




The 2. 
Teacher \ 3. 


Sympathy 




Standards of Right 




and the | 




f (a) Teacher Prepared 


Pupil [ 4 


Class Management 


(6) Pupil Trusted 

(c) Quiet Firmness 

(d) Positive Training 







LESSON IV 
The Teacher's Personal Preparation 

*'A handful of good life is worth a bushel of learning, " (George Herbert.) 

In order to make his influence count for most in the life of the child, 
the teacher must see that there is nothing lacking in his personal 
equipment. 

1. Physical preparation. Enthusiasm fails and irritation increases 
when one is tired. The King's business demands the best physical 
conditions. Rest is needed to steady the nerves; good digestion is 
necessary to keep one joyful and optimistic. A careful, neat appear- 
ance is also an aid to good teaching. Sometimes a lesson has been 
spoiled by a slovenly mamier, a too attractive hat, or ^n unusual dress. 
A pleasing voice and a winsome manner, with plenty of smiles, suggest 
victory. 

2. Intellectual preparation. The teacher will need a knowledge 
of the child, knowledge of educational methods and a knowledge of 
the Bible as a whole. Thus he wiU be able to relate the lesson to its 
surroundings and to give the proper values to events. Reading about 
related subjects and current events will supply original illustrations 
for the work. The teacher who does not thus prepare will find the class 
wandering into other pastures, where they will find desired food. 

Training is a necessity. Many claim that teachers are born, not made. 
To an extent this is true. A person who has no desire to teach, disHkes 
children and has no patience nor interest, will never be made into a 



Ii8 Preparation for Teaching 

teacher any more than a totally blind man can cultivate the sense of 
sight. One who has a desire to teach and a love for children may 
miconsciously carry out the principles of education to an extent 
through instinct, and thus become a good teacher, but with these 
two qualifications and a training built upon them the best results may 
be expected. 

Lesson helps are not everything. With the Bible, prayer and a 
knowledge of the class, a plan suited to your class may be produced. 
The God who transformed unlearned fishermen into flaming evangelists 
can and will do the same for us if we are in earnest. 

3. Spiritual preparation is the most important. "Though I speak 
with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am 
become as sounding brass." (I Cor. 13:1.) The foundation motives of 
teaching must be pure. A teacher's reason for entering on his work 
should be the joy of service for the Master and the desire to lead others 
into the new hfe, without which aU success is failure. Classes have 
frequently been held together by ignorant men whose power lay in 
their simple spirituality. 

This power can be gained in only one way. We reflect the com- 
pany we keep. We must walk with God daily, have quiet talks with 
him and make the study of his word our daily spiritual food. Skillful 
methods will never make up for spiritual deficiency. God will not place 
his spiritual power in vessels imprepared and unclean. 

Nights of agonizing in prayer may be a part of the price of your 
influence in a boy's Hfe, but the compensation makes sacrifice a joy. 
To know that one has helped a soul to find God is the greatest happi- 
ness. (Ps. 126 : 5, 6.) 

"We must not hope to be mowers 

And gather the golden ears. 

Unless we have first been sowers. 

And watered each furrow with tears." 

TEST QUESTIONS 

^Yha.t physical preparation is needed by the teacher? 
AMiat intellectual preparation should he make? 
In what sense are teachers born? 



The Teacher 119 

What two qualifications are necessary to the Sunday-school teacher? 
What is the most important preparation for Sunday-school teaching? 
What should be the motive of the Sunday-school teacher? 
How may spirituaUty be gained? 



BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



The Teacher's f ^' Physical Preparation 

Personal Preparation 1 ?• J^^^Ji^^^i^^l Preparation 
^ [ 3. Spiritual Preparation 



LESSON V 
Teaching Principles 

The builder of bridges, tunnels and railroads must study the founda- 
tion principles before beginning to erect his structure. It is even 
more necessary that the teacher, who is to build character, shaU know 
the principles that make character. 

Three basic principles must be kept in mind: 

I. Knowledge advances through four logical stages. All knowl- 
edge reaches the soul by way of the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, 
touch and smell. Through these we have sensations, and from sensa- 
tions the four steps to knowledge are taken. 

1. Perception. Some cause in the outer world stimulates one of 
the senses; this produces a sensation. When this sensation reaches 
the brain, it is interpreted and we call it a perception. For instance, 
I hear a sound. My brain recognizes it as coming from a violin, and 
I have a perception of a violin. If I will now use other senses and 
handle the violin and look at it, the perception will be strengthened. 

2. Conception. From a number of perceptions I take one or more 
common features, put them together and call the combination a con- 
ception. For instance, I hear the piano, the violin and the flute, and 
get the general idea or conception of music. 



120 Preparation for Teaching 

3. Judgment. By comparing several conceptions or perceptions 
a judgment is formed. I have the percept "rose," and the concept 
"flower." I compare these and reach the judgment, "A rose is a 
flower." 

4. Reasoning. The comparing of judgments produces reasoning. 
I know that Jesus gave sight to the bhnd, that he cured the paralytic, 
that he cleansed the leper, that he restored the widow's son to hfe, 
so I conclude that Jesus is man's helper in sorrow. 

As our judgments and reasonings depend primarily on the number 
and accuracy of our percepts, it is of the greatest importance that the 
Sunday-school teacher appeal to as many senses as possible. He should 
reach the ear through speech and music, the eye through pictures, 
blackboard and maps, the hand by models and manual work, and other 
senses in appropriate ways. 

II. Knowledge is acquired only through self-activity. The child 
who is carried along without being permitted to try his own httle legs 
will be a weakHng. No amount of exercise which James takes will 
develop John's muscles. And so in mental development. No amount 
of hard work by the teacher can take the place of the pupil's own efforts. 
The great business of the teacher is to set the pupil to thinking. The 
teacher's explanations are useless unless the pupil rethinks what is 
taught. The teacher must stimulate the pupil's mind and arouse the 
spirit of inquiry. Jesus did. (John 4 : 1-26.) If a thirst is created, 
it is unnecessary to teach a child to drink. 

The learner should so master the thought that he can express it in 
his own language. 

III. Knowledge must be understood and used, or it will be lost. 

The new^ truth must become a part of our mental equipment, even as 
the meat we have for dinner becomes a part of our blood. It should 
make us mentally and spiritually stronger for the next task. We 
should ask about the new knowledge. What is the good of it? How 
can I use it? Knowledge is not one's own until it is apphed to the 
daily life. We know by doing. (John 7 : 17.) Jesus said, "Whoso- 
ever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him 
unto a wise man." (Matt. 7 : 24.) "Truth so studied cleaves to the 
memory, quickens the intellect, fires the heart, shapes the character 
and transforms the Hfe." 



The Teacher 



121 



TEST QUESTIONS 
What three basic principles should be remembered? 
How does knowledge reach the soul? 
Explain the meaning of perception. 
How is a conception formed? 
How are judgments formed? 
How do we reason? 
How is knowledge acquired? 
What use should be made of new knowledge? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



Teaching 
Principles 



I. Four Stages of Knowledge 



1^: 

1 Q 



Perception 
2, Conception 
, 3. Judgment 
[ 4. Reasoning 
II. Knowledge Acquired Through SeK-activity 
HI. Knowledge Must Be Understood and Used 



LESSON VI 
Methods of Teaching 

Principles are general truths. Method is the manner of applying 
the principles to the specific lesson. Did you ever see a child wearing 
a coat intended for a larger person without any remodehng? The 
fault was not with the coat. It may have fitted perfectly the one for 
whom it was made, but it has not been adapted to its new duties. So 
we find our methods need to be adapted to the lesson and the pupil. 
A method successful with one may be a failure with another. The 
best method is the combination of aU. 

The four methods may be grouped as foUows: 

1. The recitation method. This presupposes a lesson prepared at 
home from Bible or quarterly. The teacher merely becomes a quiz 
leader for a set of questions which the pupils know. This is the poorest 
form of teaching. It suits the lazy teacher best. It requires the least 
work on his part, and, although the conscientious pupil may study at 



122 Preparation for Teaching 

home and may have a store of Bible facts m mmd, the lesson period will 
be of small benefit to him. • 

2. The lecture method. For Uttle children, this method takes the 
story form, while for the adult it is the explanation and apphcation of 
the lesson. The success of this method depends on the teacher. It 
has both advantages and disadvantages. It is sometimes successfully 
adopted in large classes. When used by a gifted teacher, it may do 
much to hold adults in the school. On the other hand, the teacher may 
simply entertain without instructing. When this method is adopted, 
effort on the part of the pupil is not essential. 

3. The question method. Used by the great Greek teacher 
Socrates with success. By his wonderful questions he showed his 
pupils what they did not know, and roused their interest to find out 
for themselves. Questions: 

(a) Arouse interest; so may be used to advantage at the beginning 
of the lesson. Jesus met the questions of the priests and scribes with a 
counter-question for a starting point. "Whose image and super- 
scription hath it?" was his query of those who asked him about the 
tribute money. (Luke 20 : 24.) "How readest thou?" was his begin- 
ning with the inquiring lawyer. (Luke 10 : 26.) 

(6) Reveal to the teacher the point of contact. He must find 
out the condition of the pupil's mind in order to connect the new truth 
with what the pupil already knows. 

(c) Test the knowledge of the pupil. In no other way can we 
tell whether the pupil has grasped the truth the teacher has tried to 
impart. (Matt. 13 : 51; 16 : 9-12.) 

(d) Stimulate the thought of the pupil. A good question will 
make the pupil think. (Matt. 9 : 28.) A poor question may suggest 
the answer. The following are weak questions: 

Did Jesus change the water into wine? 
Were the servants directed to obey him? 

If the teacher would have the pupil think, let him put the questions 
in this form: 

What miracle did Jesus perform here? 
What command did Mary give to the servants? 



The Teacher 123 

The poorly prepared teacher does all the talking. The partly prepared 
teacher is content to ask questions. The fully prepared teacher so stirs 
the thought of the pupils that they ask questions. 

(e) Lead to decision, as in the case of Peter, to whom Jesus said 
three times, "Lovest thou me?" (John 21 : 15) and in the case of the 
disciples, when he inquired of them, ''Whom say ye that I am?" (Matt. 
16 : 15.) 

4. The special research method is suited to adults of average in- 
telligence, but can be adapted to children. The pupils are given topics — 
characters or places to study that they may bring the results to the class 
in writing. These essays the teacher should weave into one complete 
whole. The benefit is reaped not only as the essays asked for are pre- 
pared, but as the interested pupil seeks for the knowledge on his own 
responsibility. 

The difficulty in securing preparation at home may be met by the 
following suggestions: 

(a) Assign to each pupil the subject that will interest him most. 

(b) Appeal to the sense of duty. The teacher's personal influence 
will have great weight. 

(c) Give full directions and make the duty clear. The secret of 
success is in the assignment of definite tasks. 

(d) Expect the work to be done. Appreciate any effort, however 
small, and use it in the lesson study. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
How do methods differ from principles? 
What are the four methods of teaching? 
Explain the recitation method. 
What is the weakness of the lecture method? 
For what purposes did Socrates use the question method? 
Name five advantages of the question method. 
What method is used by the poorly prepared teacher? by the partly 
prepared teacher? by the fully prepared teacher? 
What is the special research method of teaching? 
Give four suggestions for securing home preparation. 



124 



Preparation for Teaching 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 





1. The Recitation 






Method 






2. The Lecture Method 


(a) Arouses Interest 
(6) Reveals Point of 


Methods 
of 


3. The Question Method ^ 


Contact 
(c) Tests Knowledge 


Teaching 




(d) Stimulates Thought 

(e) Leads to Decision 
(a) Assign Subjects 




4. The Special Research 


(b) Appeal to Sense of 

Duty 

(c) FuU Directions 




Method. 






{d) Expect Work 



LESSON VII 
Preparing the Lesson 

"Remember, teacher, you are the best teacher some child 
wiU ever have." (Bishop Vincent.) 

The teacher should approach the day's lesson with reverence and 
responsibihty. It is his great opportunity. The problem is a more 
serious and difficult one than that of the pubhc-school teacher, who has 
had years of training: more serious, because greater things are at 
stake; more difficult, because of limitation of time, equipment and 
authority. Eye to eye and heart to heart the teacher must face the 
great army of worldly interests, and conquer and control them long 
enough to carefuUy plant the seeds of real happiness and eternal Kfe. 

1. Begin early. The teacher should read on Sunday evening the 
lesson for the following week. This gives him time to become so satu- 
rated with the lesson that, hke the sponge, he is overflowing with his 
message. 

2. Study the lesson text and context. Look up the marginal refer- 
ences. Use a Bible dictionary and learn everything possible about 
persons, customs and places. Gather the lesson facts. Note the 
important truths. Pray for guidance. (John 16 : 13, 14.) 



The Teacher 125 

3. Collect a variety of material, incidents, stories, pictures, curios, 
explanations, etc. Find these in daily papers, magazines, personal 
experience, or nature. If the lesson is kept in mind, the illustrations 
wiU be found if one is alert. 

After the material has been collected, the work of selecting and 
arranging begins. 

4. Plan to review the last lesson. If the pupil recalls the facts 
and teaching and expresses them clearly in his own language, the teacher 
may well be encouraged. The pupil has become a learner. His 
restatement of the teachings wiU fasten them indehbly on his mind, 
and wiU give him a larger view of truth. 

5. Select a single truth in planning the advance lesson and adapt it 
to the conditions and needs of the pupil. In the short lesson period 
the lesson should not only be completed, but be weU completed. 
This is impossible if the attention of the pupil is distracted to many 
unrelated truths. Every story, song and illustration should help to 
hammer in the truth. If the course of the lesson is aimless, the result 
will be what we observe on the blotting pad — mere traces and sug- 
gestions, but nothing definite. ''A recitation is almost valueless 
unless something definite is accomplished." 

6. Prepare the approach to the lesson. This may be by picture, 
illustration, or question. Whatever the introduction, it should be 
related to the truth of the lesson, and should excite attention. Sup- 
pose the lesson is "Ananias and Sapphira." Begin by holding up a 
silver dollar and a counterfeit. Both look ahke. Ring them on the 
table. The test will show the true value of each. Having thus gained 
the attention of the pupils, present the lesson on true and counterfeit 
Christians in the early church. 

A question will often arouse interest and make a point of contact. 
For example: ''Did you ever see a mouse trap? Baited with what? 
why? Did you ever see a man trap?" Then teach the evil of the 
saloon, with its tempting ball of fight, its music and its free lunch. 

7. Connect the truth in every possible way with the pupil's 
known world. Compare the size of Palestine and its climate with 
that of his own state. Contrast conditions and customs of Bible days 
with those of the present day. For high-school boys and girls relate 
the material to secular history, literature and science. For the adult 



126 Preparation for Teaching 

relate the lesson to the social and political institutions with which he 
is familiar. 

8. Plan to make the teaching move the pupil to action. No lesson 
is complete without this. Give the pupil something to do — a right 
choice to make, a new grace to be cultivated, a new service to be im- 
dertaken. We should not, however, be disappointed if there are not 
visible results at the end of every lesson. The boy who is most deeply 
touched will often strive most to hide it. After a teacher had appealed 
to the members of his class to decide for Christ, one boy tore the de- 
cision card to pieces, but he signed a card the following week. The seed- 
sowing is ours; the harvest belongs to the Master. 

TEST QUESTIONS 
Why is the problem of the Sunday-school teacher more serious and 
more difficult than that of the pubhc-school teacher? 
Name eight steps in the preparation of the lesson. 
Why should the teacher begin the preparation early? 
"What is the first step in lesson preparation? 
Why should the teacher plan to review the previous lesson? 
What kinds of material should be gathered? 
Why is it important to select one vital truth? 
How may an attractive approach to the lesson be prepared? 
How may the truth be related to the pupil's known world? 
What should be the result of the teaching? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 




Begin Early to CoUect 6. Prepare Approach 

Material 7. Connect with Pu- 
Study the Lesson Text pil's Knowledge 

Variety of Material 8. Move the Pupil to 
Plan to Re\new Action 

Single Truth 



The Teacher 127 

LESSON VIII 
Illustrating the Lesson 

Knowing that each additional sense appealed to adds to the strength 
of the impression made, the teacher wiU frequently appeal to the eye 
through pictures and blackboard work. The chalk pictures should be 
very simple and suggestive. No attempt should be made to draw 
faces or figures. The vivid imagination of the child will make a straight 
Une into a man, whereas ludicrous figures distract from the thought 
of the lesson and cause disorder. Care must be taken to see that all 
illustrations convey to the mind of the child exactly what is intended. 

Appeal through the sense of touch may be made through hand work, 
such as making scrapbooks, illustrating hymns and modeling maps. 

But often better than either illustrations or hand work is the good 
story. The teacher who can tell a story has a tool with which he can 
produce splendid results. 

There are three kinds of stories: 

1. The introductory story for lesson approach. 

2. The illustrative story to fasten truth. 

3. The story of the lesson itself. 

Ordinarily, not all these should be used in any one lesson. 
The value of stories cannot be measured. 

1. They help to secure order and attention. 

2. They enlarge the child's world. 

3. They make things more real. 

A successful story must be : 

1. On a level with the hearer's experience. Tell the little child 
about another child just like himself. Tell the boy about boys and 
what they do. Compare a new object with something with which the 
pupil is famiUar. 

2. Adapted to the age of the hearer. The child of five will ask for 
the same story, saying, "Tell it again." The child of ten, when told 
the same story a second time, will be apt to say, "Heard that; tell 
another." For the child of five, each detail in the tenth telling must 
be as in the first, or decided objection will be made. 



128 Preparation for Teaching 

3. Calculated to appeal to the emotions, in order that it may 
lead to action. 

It should be remembered that striking repetitions often help to 
impress the truth. The conversation of Jesus with Peter by the lake 
is made more impressive by the repetition of "Lovest thou me?" and 
"Thou knowest that I love thee." 

How to prepare the lesson story. 

1. Know it. 

2. Analyze the material. 

3. Note the persons, the scenes and the events. 

4. See in the mind's eye just what action follows at each step; see 
it as if an eyewitness. 

5. Place the climax at the end. 

The development of the hearer wiU determine the kind of story 
to be used. 

1. To the beginner, who knows only home, and mother and love, 
tell stories of child life, of mother, of birds, animals, flowers, stars. 

2. The primary child, with his splendid imagination, will want more 
elaborate stories. Stories of the boy Samuel or the early hfe of Christ 
will meet the need. 

3. The youth, uath his ideals, demands heroes and adventure. Tell 
him the stories of Joseph, Paul and Jesus. 

4. The man, who has learned to disciphne himself and to appreciate 
future good, will appreciate stories of suffering, temptation and self- 
denial. 

TEST QUESTIONS 

How should the teacher appeal to the sense of sight? 
By what means may he use the sense of touch? 
Name three kinds of stories. 
In what three ways are stories helpful? 
Give three elements in a successful story. 
Name five steps in preparing a lesson story. 
What kinds of stories should be told to beginners? 
What kinds of stories will appeal to the youth? 

What kinds of stories are required by those who have reached man- 
hood? 



The Teacher 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE. 



129 



(Kinds of Stories 
1. Introductory 
2. lUustrative 
3. Lesson Story 



Value of Story 

1. Order and 

Attention 

2. Enlarges 

World 

3. Makes Real 



Successful Story 

1. Touches Ex- 

perience 

2. Adapted to 

Hearer 

3. Appeals to 

Emotions 



LESSON IX 
The Teacher's Responsibility 

In one of the Greek races a Hghted torch was carried by a runner 
who in turn pressed on to carry it to another, while he disposed of it 
to a third, and so on — so the Sunday-school teacher has received a 
light that he must eagerly carry to other hves. "Freely ye have re- 
ceived, freely give." 

The Sunday-school teacher has been caUed of God to a position of 
high responsibility. (I Cor. 12 : 28.) He is appointed to teach the 
most important truths given to men. Like the minister of the gospel, 
he is a shepherd of immortal souls. He has accepted the divine ap- 
pointment, and in so doing has pledged his love, his talents and his 
self-sacrificing efforts to the accomplishment of the work. 

The compensations are adequate. "God is not unrighteous to forget 
your work and labor of love." The old gardener dug and fertilized 
about the roots of the tree and declared that he was digging for apples : 
he reaped the reward of his labors, for the tree yielded richly. So the 
teacher who digs about the hearts of children, destroys the weeds and 
provides spiritual nourishment, wiU reap a rich harvest. 

The teacher has : 

1. Responsibility to the child. To meet this obligation the teacher 
must be: 

(a) Tactful. 

(6) Sociable. 

(c) Studious. 

(d) Earnest. 

(e) Spiritual. 



130 Preparation for Teaching 

2. Responsibility to the school. To meet this obKgation the teacher 
must be: 

(a) Regular in attendance. Pupils who know that they can depend 
on their teacher's presence will themselves be more regular in atten- 
dance. Superintendents who are never required to find substitutes for 
a teacher will respond in grateful appreciation and wUl be encouraged 
to do their best for the school. 

(b) Early in attendance. The teacher who fails to reach the school 
in time to have a pleasant talk with the pupils before school opens 
misses a large opportunity. 

(c) Earnest and loyal in work. The school needs the most devoted 
interest and most thorough work of every teacher. 

3. Responsibility to the Master. Workers together with God 
dare not do poor work. We must not offer our Master anything less 
than our best. 

The teacher who would meet this responsibihty should: 

(a) Live a pure hfe. 

(6) Cultivate a winsome personahty. 

(c) Speak often to God. There will be much private prayer for the 
pupils. He will enhst the assistance of Christian pupils and have them 
pray for other members of the class. He will pray much for the spirit 
of wisdom and power. 

The teacher's responsibility is ended only w^hen he has done his best. 
In the ancient Roman quarries belonging to the emperor a skilled 
judge was always on hand to examine the blocks cut by the laborers. 
The perfect ones for the ruler's use were marked "probante" (ap- 
proved); those containing flaws in quahty or workmanship were 
marked ''reprobatimi" (worthless), and were cast aside. ''Study to 
show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be 
ashamed." 

TEST QUESTIONS 

To what great work has God called the teacher? 

In accepting the appointment as teacher what pledge is imphed? 

How may the teacher meet his responsibility to the child? 

How may he meet his responsibility to the school? 

How may he meet his responsibihty to the Master? 

When is the teacher's responsibility ended? 



The Teacher 131 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 



The Teacher's 
Responsibility 



L To the Child 

2. To the School 

3. To the Master 



LESSON X 
The Complete School for the Trained Teacher 

1. A spiritual atmosphere will pervade the school. The singing 
wiU be worshipful, the Bible reading wiU be reverent and a joyous 
sense of God's presence will be experienced by all. 

2. Every member of the church wiU have a place in the complete 
school, from the babes in the Cradle Roll to the grandparents in the 
Home Department. 

3. A competent executive force. The officers of the complete 
school will all have definite duties to perform, and will have the abihty, 
force and faithfulness necessary to carry on their work. 

4. Graded departments. Each department of the complete school 
will be distinct and have a fuU equipment. The teaching will be 
graded, and there will be graded or supplemental lessons. "The com- 
plete Sunday school is one that provides for the needs of its pupils at 
each stage of their development, and provides for its own perpetuation 
as a school." 

5. Programmes. Supplemental to the lesson will be studies on 
special topics, missions, temperance, etc. Lengthy talks from the desk 
wiU be avoided, but summaries wiU be made often and varied pro- 
grammes will be arranged to avoid monotony. 

6. Special days will be observed in special ways. Christmas will 
be a giving celebration. RaUy Day, Decision Day and other important 
times wiU be marked with special services. 

7. Open all the year. Changes as to length of session and time of 
school will be made, but it will be an all-the-year-round school. 

8. Teachers' meetings will be well attended for two reasons: 
(a) Profitable programmes will make it worth while to come. 
(6) A sense of duty will bring the faithful teacher. 



132 



Preparation for Teaching 



9. Every teacher trained. All the teachers will have taken an 
approved training course for which a diploma will be held, and the 
future teaching force wiU be provided for by a permanent teacher- 
training class in the school. 

10. Installation of teachers and officers. Because of the im- 
portance of the work to which teachers and officers are called, a pubKc 
recognition service and installation should be arranged for. 

11. The complete school will be a spiritual force in the com- 
munity. Christ will be honored in the hves of teachers and officers 
and pupils, and the community will be purified through their influence. 

12. The aim of the complete school: 

"Every pupil a Christian. 
Every Christian a worker. 
Every worker trained." 

TEST QUESTIONS 

How will the spirituahty of the school be shown? 

Who should be in the Sunday school? 

How will the competence of the officers be evidenced? 

What grading wiU be done in the school? 

What programmes wiU be provided? 

What special days will be observed? 

How long will the school be open? 

Why will the teachers' meetings be attended? 

What training wiU be required of teachers? 

How will teachers and officers begin their work? 

What will be the influence of the school on the community? 

What should be the aim of the complete school? 

BLACKBOARD OUTLINE 





1. Spiritual Atmosphere 


8. Teachers' Meetings 




2. Every Member of the 


Attended 




Church Present 


9. Every Teacher 


The 


3. A Competent Execu- 


Trained 


Complete ^ 


tive Force 


10. Installation of Teach- 


School 


4. Graded Departments 


ers and Officers 




5. Programmes 


11. Spiritual Force in 




6. Special Days 

7. Open All Year 


Community 




12. Aim of Complete School 



REFERENCE BOOKS 
Bible History 

"A Dictionary of the Bible/' Davis. 

"How we Got our Bible," Smyth, 

"Manual of Bible History," Blaikie. 

"Bible Study by Periods," Sell. 

"Life and Times of Jesus," Edersheim. 

"Life of Jesus Christ," Stalker. 

"History of the Apostolic Church," Thatcher. 

"Life and Epistles of St. Paul," Conybeare and Howson. 

"St. Paul, His Life and Time," Iverach. 

Bible Geography 

"Historical Geography of the Holy Land," Smith. 
"The Holy Land in Geography," MacCoun. 
"Historical Geography of Bible Lands," Calkin. 

Bible Institutions 

"The Temple, Its Ministry and Services," Edersheim. 

The Sunday School 

"How to Conduct a Sunday School," Lawrance. 
"The Pedagogical Bible School," Haslett. 
"Yale Lectures on the Sunday School," Trumbull. 
"The Bible School," McKinney. 
"The Organized Sunday School," Axtell. 
"The Sunday School in the Country," Faris. 

The Pupil 

"The Unfolding Life," Lamoreaux. 
"A Study of Child Nature," Harrison. 
"The Point of Contact in Teaching," Dubois. 
"Talks to Teachers on Psychology," James. 
"From One to Twenty-One," Murray. 

The Teacher 

"Teaching and Teachers," Trumbull. 
"The Making of a Teacher," Brumbaugh. 
"The Seven Laws of Teaching," Gregory. 
"The Sunday School Teacher," Hamill. 

The Superintendent 

"What a Superintendent Can Do," Howard. 

The Home Department 

"With Home Department Workers," Fergusson. 

The Organized-* Bible Class 

"The Adult Bible Class." Pearce. 



The Westminster Course of 

Supplemental Lessons 

Edited by J. R. MILLER, D.D. 



SUPPLEMENTAL LESSONS 
FOR THE PRIMARY DEPARTMENT 

PART ONE, by MARION THOMAS 
Price, 25 cents, postpaid 

Fall Quarter.— God's Love and Care. Love to God. God's Love. 

Winter Quarter. — Love to Others. Hymns. 

Spring Quarter.— Test of Love. Prayer. Review of Year's Work. 

For Pupils' Use. — Picture Supplement, 5 cents a set 



PART TWO, by M. FLORENCE BROWN 
Price, 25 cents, postpaid 

Fall Quarter.— Love to God. The Story of the Birth of Christ. 
Winter Quarter. — Love to God. The Shepherd Psalm (begun). 
Spring Quarter.— The Shepherd Psalm (completed). Prayer. Review of 
Year's Work. 

For Pupils' Use. — Picture Supplement, 5 cents a set, postpaid 



SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING 

SUPPLEMENTAL GRADED LESSONS IN THE 

JUNIOR DEPARTMENT 

FIRST YEAR, by JOSEPHINE L. BALDWIN 

Price, 25 cents, postpaid 



SECOND YEAR, by FREDERICK G. TAYLOR 
Price, 25 cents, postpaid 



Supplemental Lessons 

FOR THE UPPER GRADES 
OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

Edited by J. R. MILLER, D.D. 
By the Rev. E. MORRIS FERGUSSON 

Each year's course in pamphlet form. 
Price, 15 cents, postpaid 

FIRST YEAR 

The Old Testament. 

Old Testament History, Creation to David. 

Old Testament History, Solomon to Hezekiah. 

SECOND YEAR 

The Land of Palestine. 

Old Testament History, Isaiah to John the Baptist. 

Life of Jesus Christ. 

THIRD YEAR 

The Story of Jerusalem. 
The Spread of the Gospel. 
The New Testament. 

FOURTH YEAR 

Heroes of the Church. 

Heroes of the Reformation. 

How We Got Our Bible. 



Presbyterian Board of Publication 



Philadelphia 
New York 



Chicago 
St. Louis 



San Francisco 
Nashville 



Pittsburg 
Cincinnati 



The Westminster Series of 

Sunday-School Manuals 

A brief, inexpensive series of Sunday-school manuals 
for the teachers and officers of the school and for 
teacher-training classes. They are well adapted also 
for individual reading and study. 



THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS 

ITS ORGANIZATION AND WORK 

By W. C. PEARCE 

Adult Department Superintendent International Sunday School Association 

Price, 25 cents, postpaid 

An eighty-seven page book, with the following contents : 
The Adult Bible Class Movement Duties of Class Officers and Committees 
Class Organization Class Meetings 

How to Organize Class Activities 

The Class Constitution Appendix— Samples of Printed Matter 

MR. MARION LAWRANCE says : " I can conceive of no phase of the work that is not here 
considered and treated in a helpful way. Mr. Pearce is devoting his life to this work and all who 
desire information will do well to read what he has said and follow in the path he marks out." 

THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

By FRANKLIN McELFRESH, D.D. Price, 10 cents, postpaid 

SPECIAL DAYS IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

By ALLAN SUTHERLAND Price, 10 cents, postpaid 

WHAT A SUPERINTENDENT CAN DO 

By PHILIP E. HOWARD Price, 10 cents, postpaid 

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

By A. H. McKINNEY Price, 10 cents, postpaid 

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY 

By JOHN T. FARIS Price, 10 cents, postpaid 

FOR HOME DEPARTMENT WORKERS 

By E. MORRIS FERGUSSON Price, 10 cents, postpaid 



Presbyterian Board of Publication 



Philadelphia 
New York 



Chicago 
St. Louis 



San Francisco 
Nashville 



Pittsburg 
Cincinnati 



IrtAY SI «0e 



LbAg'09 



PREPARATION 
FOR TEACHING 

A STANDARD COURSE for TEACHER TRAINING 

By CHARLES A. OLIVER 




PHILADELPHIA 

THE WESTMINSTER PRESS 
1909 



d\ 



ll 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Sept. 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

in Thomson Park Drive 
Cranbeny Towrjship, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



